The Red Cross Society of China has agreed to build a central warehouse for the Nepal Red Cross Society.

Secretary General of NRCS Dev Ratna Dhakhwa and Vice President of the Red Cross Society of China Wang Haijing on Thursday signed the agreement to be validated for two years, the NRCS said in a statement.

This RCSC support is being extended in line with the NRCS’s earthquake recovery framework under which the Chinese side is providing $1.3 million in financial

assistance for the implementation of the warehouse construction project.

“RCSC will explore other areas of support to Nepal,” said Wang, who is leading a high-level RCSC team in Nepal on a three-day visit. The visiting RCRC team includes Yu Liying, deputy director; Hai Liman, head of International Cooperation Division and Chen Yue of International Cooperation Division, External Liaison Department.

Speaking on the occasion, NRCS Chairman Sanjiv Thapa said, “The main objective of the project is to construct a central warehouse building of NRCS in Bhaktapur with adequate equipment and facilities.”

Highlighting the relevance of the warehouse construction project  NRCS Secretary General Dhakhwa said, “It has been realised that the current capacity of NRCS warehouse was not enough to cope with mega disasters like earthquake of April 2015. Likewise, it is not advisable to have a warehouse in the national headquarters with limited access to big vehicles.”

The NRCS is currently managing its central warehouses in temporary structures and rub halls. There are 11 other warehouses in strategic places in the country.

The joint team on Thursday also observed the construction site in Bhaktapur.

The team will visit Kavrepalanchok on Friday and observe Red Cross support activities targeting people affected by 2015 earthquake.