The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has extended a loan of USD 200 million to improve the water supply and other urban services in Guwahati and Dibrugarh in Assam. The project is scheduled to be completed by December 2017.
It was officially announced in Manila that ADB Board of Directors has approved the multi-tranche financing facility for the Assam Urban Infrastructure Investment Programme, with a first tranche loan of USD 81 million and second tranche of USD 119 million.
Funds would be used to provide clean piped water to about 3.50 lakh residents in Guwahati, as well as for major upgrades to sewerage and solid waste systems in the two cities.
A 10 -km-long bus rapid transit corridor would be developed in Guwahati. The scheme will serve more than 40,000 people a day, shorten travel time and cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Only about one in three of Guwahati’s 10 lakh residents has access to piped water. In Dibrugarh, inadequate solid waste management and indiscriminate dumping of waste have choked the drainage system, causing severe flooding in the rainy season.
ADB has helped the Government of Assam draw up a 10-year roadmap for developing urban services and the programme will support the State’s overall investment plans. The water supply upgrade in southeastern Guwahati will complement improvements being carried out elsewhere in the city funded by the Union Government and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, said ADB officials.
Sewerage infrastructure in Guwahati would be constructed, including a new treatment plant, pipes and pumping stations.
In Dibrugarh, solid waste collection coverage will be increased to more than 80 per cent of households. Drainage in the city will be improved by removing waste from waterways and by widening and rebuilding flood relief culverts, bridges and sluice gates.
Linked technical assistance will also help lay the groundwork for reforms to turn the Guwahati Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board into a sustainable, autonomous body.
“Given the importance of Assam as the gateway to economic development in North-east India, ADB and the Government have embarked on a long-term strategic development partnership to improve the urban infrastructure and increase state capacity,” said Director General of ADB’s South Asia Department Sultan Hafeez Rahman.
“The investment programme entails an integrated approach to urban development in Guwahati and Dibrugarh in Assam by delivering a 24x7 water supply and treatment of incremental wastewater,” said Principal Urban Development Specialist in ADB’s South Asia Department Sangay Penjor, adding that it will also develop an environmentally friendly and sustainable bus rapid transit system; and significantly boost institutional reforms.
