With an aim to meet the need of a dedicated infrastructure development bank in the country, Government of Nepal (GoN) and Nepal Rastra Bank paved the way for the establishment of infrastructure development bank through the Annual Budget for the Fiscal Year 2015/16 and the subsequent Monetary Policy of the same year. Accordingly, Nepal Infrastructure Bank Limited was registered under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Company Registrar’s Office on 8th June 2018 as the first national level infrastructure development bank of the nation, promoted by Government of Nepal together with Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs), Life and Non-life Insurance companies, other private sector leading entities and a team of entrepreneurs.
This marked as a significant milestone in the infrastructure sphere of the nation. The Bank obtained the operating license from Nepal Rastra Bank, the central bank of the country, on 11th February 2019 and formally started its operations on 6th March 2019. Being the first infrastructure development bank of the nation, NIFRA aims to bridge the infrastructure financing gap by raising resources from domestic and international market in the form of equity, debt, structured funds and bonds and applying such resources into economically viable infrastructure projects by adopting proven models of infrastructure financing. NIFRA also aims to work as a nodal financial institution of the nation to accelerate the investment in infrastructure sector by developing the required ecosystem, to bridge the gap in financial resources required for country’s infrastructure development, to promote the culture of Private Sector Participation in infra-projects and work closely with the Government of Nepal in planning and developing national policies for infrastructure development.