KATHMANDU, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), a body formed to carry out post-earthquake reconstruction in Nepal, told the international donor community on Friday that Nepal needs additional 600 billion Nepali Rupees (5.16 billion U.S. dollars) to complete the reconstruction works.
The deadly quake in April 2015 killed 8,790 people and injured more than 22,300. It was also disastrous in terms of damaging houses and buildings with at least 498,852 private houses and 2,656 government buildings destroyed, while another 256,697 private houses and 3,622 government buildings were partially damaged.
The Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) conducted by the Nepali government a few months after the quake had estimated the need for 6.69 billion U.S. dollars to complete the reconstruction. As per the revised needs assessment, it will require 938 billion Nepali Rupees (8.05 billion U.S. dollars) to complete the reconstruction works, according to the NRA.
The Nepali government is expected to spend around 2.89 billion U.S. dollars by the end of the current fiscal year that began in mid-July. So, around 5.16- billion-U.S dollar more resources will be required to complete all the reconstruction works, the NRA said in a statement on Friday.
NRA Chief Executive Officer Sushil Gyewali told a gathering of various donor organizations and countries on Friday that the NRA would take initiatives at the national and international levels to manage resources to meet the financial requirement to complete the post-earthquake reconstruction.
