ADB, India sign $270 million loan to improve urban services

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India have signed a $270 million loan to develop water supply and integrated stormwater and sewage management infrastructure and strengthen capacities of urban local bodies for improved service delivery in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

This is an additional financing to scale up the scope of the ongoing Madhya Pradesh Urban Services Improvement Project, which was approved in 2017 with a $275 million loan. It will expand the outcome of the current project by covering additional 64 small cities, benefiting 185,000 households that consist of about 1.3 million people.

“Through this project, ADB will continue innovative approaches and good practices of the ongoing project including universal coverage with 100% household metering, full operation and maintenance cost recovery, and reducing non-revenue water,” said Takeo Konishi, Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission. “The provision of inclusive water and sanitation services to the urban poor will help achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 or access to clean water and sanitation for all.”

The project will receive support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, specifically for the integration of Citywide Inclusive Sanitation principles into the planning, design, implementation, operation, and maintenance of the sanitation subprojects.

As in the previous loan, the project will support the continued institutional strengthening and capacity building of the Urban Development and Housing Department and Madhya Pradesh Urban Development Company Limited. The project will pilot an integrated urban development approach to improve urban service delivery and infrastructure of two urban local bodies. ADB’s technical support will provide a significant model that can be used to replicate and scale up the enhancement of urban livability in other localities.

Original source: ADB