ADB lends $100 mn for urban projects in Uttarakhand

Asian Development Bank (ADB) agreed to lend $100 million for upgrading water supply, sewerage system and other civic infrastructure in some of the towns of Uttarakhand. The loan is the second tranche of assistance given by the multilateral development agency under the Uttarakhand Urban Sector Development Investment Program. The loan would benefit Haldwani, Roorkee and Ramnagar towns besides Dehradun, Haridwar and Nainital which were covered in the first tranche. With the help of this loan, the state government would improve the water supply infrastructure that will benefit about 800,000 residents. A comprehensive sewerage system will also be developed under the project, which will provide improved sanitation facilities to about 100,000 residents of Roorkee town. Recently, the central government signed the loan agreement with the ADB. The second tranche loan from the ADB’s Ordinary Capital Resources has a 25-year term including a grace period of five years, commitment charges of 0.15 percent and interest rate to be determined in accordance with ADB’s LIBOR-based lending facility. The central government will provide counterpart funds of $42.86 million for a total second tranche project investment cost of $142.86 million.