Press Release (24-Sept-2025)

ADB President Visits Bhutan: Strengthening Partnerships for Sustainable Development

Masato Kanda, President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), is on a three-day visit to Bhutan from 23-25 September 2025 to strengthen collaboration and partnership between the Royal Government of Bhutan and ADB. The visit highlights ADB's continued commitment to supporting Bhutan's development priorities and advancing sustainable economic growth. President Kanda will visit ADB-supported projects in Thimphu and hold meetings with key government officials to further deepen and strengthen the ADB-Bhutan partnership

On 24 September, President Kanda met with Hon'ble Finance Minister who is the Governor to ADB to discuss the long-standing ADB-Bhutan partnership, which began in 1982. Discussions covered a wide range of investment areas, including hydropower and renewable energy, health sector development, technical and vocational education and training (TVET), transport, finance, public sector management, urban development, and water resources.

In the presence of the Hon'ble Finance Minister and President Kanda, two new projects were signed: the "Climate Resilient Omchhu River Basin Project" and the "Project Readiness Financing for the National Highway Expansion Project (Lhamoizingkha-Sarpang)".

The Omchhu Project, financed through a $30 million concessional loan and a $15 million grant, will focus on building climate-resilient river erosion protection and flood embankments, while piloting landslide mitigation measures to reduce debris flows and associated risks in Omchhu River Basin.

The transport Project Readiness Financing, supported by a $2 million grant, will facilitate the preparation of the National Highway Expansion Project between Lhamoizingkha and Sarpang, aimed at developing climate-adaptive and resilient transport infrastructure in Bhutan.

To date, ADB has administered 212 public sector loans, grants, and technical assistance projects to Bhutan, totaling $1.3 billion. As of December 2024, ADB's active sovereign portfolio in Bhutan consists of 12 loans and 5 grants valued at $253.04 million

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