The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) under the US government has granted permission to resume the MCC project in Nepal for the time being.
The Millennium Challenge Account Nepal (MCA Nepal) has informed that the US government has given permission to move forward with the projects under the MCC.
However, since the 90-day review period is still ongoing, the continuity of the program remains unclear. After Donald Trump was elected President of the United States of America, all types of foreign grants including the MCC project were halted. Similarly, some programs run by USAID in Nepal were also canceled.
"The US government is allowing select work for activities under the Nepal Compact to resume while the US foreign assistance review is underway. The work includes launching critical procurements and necessary operational activities," stated the press release issued by MCA Nepal on Friday, "This allowance, however, does not indicate any specific outcome of the review."
The MCC's decision, following the order of US President Donald Trump, had left Nepal's project on hold. On February 14, the MCC informed the Nepal government through correspondence that the payments would be halted. Now, MCA Nepal has stated that the suspended project is set to resume.
"MCA Nepal is closely coordinating with the Millennium Challenge Corporation and the Government of Nepal to ensure compliance while awaiting updates on the foreign assistance review," the notice issued by MCA Nepal stated.
MCA Nepal is a program under the MCC. According to the agreement between the Nepal government and the MCC on September 4, 2017, the project implementation began on August 30, 2023. The initial agreement mentioned that the US government would contribute US$ 500 million, and the Nepal government would contribute US$ 197 million.
Although Trump had suspended grants for 90 days, the work under MCC's grant continues in Nepal.
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