Reconstruction of infrastructure and areas damaged by severe flooding in Nepal this week could cost between $4 billion and $5 billion, nearly one-tenth of the country’s economy, Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle said.
“The initial estimate is between $4 billion and $5 billion. It is just an estimate, and we are still assessing the losses and damage,” Wagle told Reuters.
On August 26, a glacier collapse in the Himalayan region unleashed huge amounts of rock, ice, mud and debris into river systems, killing more than 600 people in Nepal and China’s Tibet region, while more than 2,000 people remain missing.
The floods destroyed towns in border areas, swept away bridges and roads, and damaged major hydropower projects.
The estimated reconstruction cost is expected to be lower than the $9 billion spent to rebuild Nepal after the magnitude-7.8 earthquake in 2015, which caused widespread destruction across the country.
The 2015 earthquake killed nearly 9,000 people and destroyed more than 500,000 homes, causing losses equivalent to around one-third of Nepal’s economy.
The latest floods could also deliver a major blow to Nepal’s economy, which relies heavily on remittances from overseas workers, tourism and hydropower.
In particular, hydropower projects accounting for more than 12% of Nepal’s total electricity generation capacity were damaged by the floods.
Ref: International news agencies.
