October 3, 2018
India and the ADB have signed a US$240 million loan agreement to provide safe drinking water service in three West Bengal districts
service in three West Bengal districts The Government and the ADB have signed a US$150 million loan agreement to support India’s first global skills park in Madhya Pradesh
The Government and the ADB sign US$100 million loan agreement to expand sewerage and drainage coverage in Kolkata, West Bengal
The ADB and the Indian Government have signed US$150 million loan to improve regional connectivity in West Bengal and Northeast lndia
Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a number of loan agreements to support developmental projects related to water and sanitation as well as road connectivity and skill development. The agreements announced over October 1-3 will see projects that are expected to bring considerable improvement in the standard of living of a vast set of population, thus creating a base for improved economic development. The Philippines-based regional development bank will loan US$240 million to fund projects for providing safe and sustainable drinking water to about 1.7 million people in three districts of the state of West Bengal affected by arsenic, fluoride, and salinity. The project aims to provide continuous potable water through metered connections to about 390,000 individual households.
The ADB will loan US$100 million to strengthen the capacity of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) in sewage treatment and water supply. The final loan under a US$400 million multi-tranche facility, Kolkata Environmental Improvement Investment Program (KEIIP), will expand sewage and drainage services in selected areas of KMC to at least 3,000 additional households and provide sewage treatment for at least 100,000 houses. The new funding will be used to construct 43 km of additional sewer drain pipes, four pumping stations, 13 km of pumping mains, and three sewage treatment plants to improve sanitation service quality and climate resilience in selected areas of KMC. KEIIP aims to restore water production capacity to 1.5 billion liters per day and repair leaks on 700 km of water pipes, among others, by 2023.
The ADB and the Indian Government have signed a US$150 million loan agreement to establish a Global Skills Park (GSP) in Madhya Pradesh. India’s first multi-skills park will enhance the quality of Technical and Vocational Education And Training (TVET) system in the state, by engaging international TVET partners. The GSP campus will be set up in Bhopal and will consist of core advanced training Institutes, including the Center for Occupational Skills Acquisition and the Center for Advanced Agricultural Training as well as other support services focusing on entrepreneurship and training of trainers. It will have training facilities focusing on skills for manufacturing, service, and advanced agricultural jobs, benefitting about 20,000 trainees and trainers. The project will help in modernizing 10 industrial training institutes in the state.
The ADB and the Indian Government signed another US$150 Million loan deal to finance improvements to road connectivity and efficiency of the International Trade Corridor in West Bengal and Northeastern region of lndia. The tranche 2 loan deal under the US$500 million South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation Road Connectivity investment Program aims to expand about 500 kilometers of roads in lndia’s North Bengal and Northeastern region that will enable efficient and safe transport within lndia and regionally with other SASEC member countries. The program is an important initiative in boosting domestic and regional trade through the North Bengal-Northeast Region International Trade corridor. The Northeast is at the heart of India’s “Act East” policy to expand relations with the ASEAN countries.