Nepal Biogas Project: First Payment Made for Increased Support to Nepal Biogas Program

News Release No. 2009/5

In Washington:
Cathy Russell, tel. (+1) 202 458 8124 crussell@worldbank.org

In Kathmandu:
Rajib Upadhya, tel (+977 1) 4439571 Rupadhya@worldbank.org

Kathmandu, Nepal – July 30, 2009 – The World Bank implemented Global Partnership on Output Based Aid (GPOBA) project in Nepal has made the first payment of $592,200 to the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC) for successful 2008 delivery of verified new biogas plant installations in Nepal. This project provides increased access to clean and affordable energy for rural Nepalese households, and successfully installed 4,772 new biogas plants eligible for payments under the GPOBA grant.

The World Bank-administered GPOBA program signed a grant agreement with the Government of Nepal in October 2007 providing a total of US$5 million in support, which will provide payment for the verified installation of up to 37,000 new biogas plants in 48 remote districts of Nepal. The program is being managed by the Alternative Energy Promotion Center (AEPC) with implementation support provided by the Biogas Sector Partnership Program-Nepal (BSP-N). It uses an innovative “output-based aid” approach in which subsidy payments are made based on verified results.