Rethinking Nepal’s Development Finance

The devastating floods of the Bhotekoshi, the Kali Gandaki and the Budhi Gandaki River corridors during late August to early October 2026 in the Himalayan Mountains have warned us about the vulnerability of Nepal’s development finance model. These floods, possibly triggered by climate-induced tragedies, have swept away strategic bridges and people's houses and severely damaged infrastructure.

This is not the exception, as Nepal has been witnessing similar disasters over the last few years. Together, these cyclical disasters have been warning the authorities to rethink the development and public investment model the country has been adopting for the last three or more decades.

There is a fundamental ambiguity about our capacity to finance infrastructure, which was undermined in considering, informing, and managing the geographical and climatic risks to which the country is vulnerable.