ADB approves Rs1,650 crore grant-cum-loan for infra projects in Tripura

The project will be taken up in the district headquarters of Khowai, Ambassa, Dharmnagar, Kailashahar, Udaipur, Bishramganj and Belonia.

The ADB will provide 80 per cent of the Rs1,650 crore as grant-in-aid and the state will have to repay only 20 per cent of the amount in due course, official sources said.

The ambitious infrastructure development project, first of its kind in Tripura, is expected to modernize all the district headquarter towns and boost tourism and trade and is part of chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb’s vision of transforming Tripura into a model state.

The project submitted by the urban development department involves development of infrastructure such as piped water supply, underground drainage, underground sewage or scientific seepage management and roads with pavement in the seven district headquarter towns.

The Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), ministry of finance, ministry of external affairs, ministry of housing and urban affairs and the ministry of home affairs had approved the project in November last year.

The ADB sent a Consultation Mission to Agartala, on 21 December 2018 to seek the feasibility of project financing readiness (PFR) and technical assistance (TA) for preparations of DPRs of this project, sources said, adding the project received the final approval on 14 June.

The Urban Development Department of the Tripura government will start preparing DPRs with the assistance of ADB for speedy execution of the said project, he said.

“For the first time, the state government has taken a concrete decision for development of infrastructure in seven of the eight district headquarter towns, to meet the long- standing demand of the people,” he said.

The ADB had also, earlier, approved a Cluster City Development Investment Programme forBangalore, which aims to increase the city's competitiveness, in a way that also promotes inclusive and environmentally sustainable growth. The program will provide physical and non-physical investment in selected clusters to: (i) improve regional and metropolitan planning, (ii) upgrade key economic and social infrastructure, and (iii) enhance urban governance (including service delivery) to create a better business and investment climate. The Program proposes to achieve the above objectives by: (i) ensuring that multi-stakeholder demand-based (cluster) infrastructure development is preceded by metropolitan economic and sector planning, (ii) promoting sectoral coordination and convergence, and (iii) establishing a strong partnership between public and private sectors.