ADB approves $270 million loan for Madhya Pradesh Urban Services Improvement Project

New Delhi, September 25, 2020

The Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) today said it had approved a $270 million loan for the construction of water supply and integrated storm water and sewage management infrastructure in Madhya Pradesh.

The loan is an additional financing intended to scale up the scope of the Madhya Pradesh Urban Services Improvement Project, which was approved in 2017 with a $ 275 million loan, a press release from the bank said.

The loan will expand the outcome of the current project by benefiting an additional 185,000 households consisting of about 1.3 million people, it said.

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.

“ADB’s support is aligned with the vision of the Government of Madhya Pradesh to improve urban infrastructure services with universal coverage of piped water supply in all urban local bodies by 2025,” said ADB Urban Development Specialist for South Asia Laxmi Sharma. “Through inclusive water and sanitation services to the urban poor, the project will help achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 or access to clean water and sanitation for all.”

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, the release added.

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