The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed here today an $80million loan agreement to continue improving infrastructure in two North Eastern State Capital cities.

The loan is the third tranche of a $200 million financing facility under the North Eastern Region Capital cities Development Investment Program and will be used for investments in water supply, solid waste management and sanitation in Agartala and Aizwal. It will also support urban reforms, benefiting nearly a million people in the two cities. Previous program tranches have provided assistance to five other cities in the Northeast-Shillong (Meghalaya), Aizawl (Mizoram), Kohima (Nagaland), Gangtok (Sikkim) and Agartala (Tripura).

The loan agreement was signed by Shri Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary (Multilateral Institutions), Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance on behalf of Government of India and Ms Teresa Kho, Country Director, ADB’s India Resident Mission on behalf of Asian Development Bank (ADB). Separate subproject agreements under the third tranche were signed by Shri Parmod Kumar, Director (UD), Sh. B.P. Das, Project Director (SIPMIU), Government of Tripura and Shri Vanlalmawia Renthlei, Joint Secretary, Urban development & Poverty Alleviation Department, Government of Mizoram on behalf of Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), Government of Tripura and Government of Mizoram respectively.

Urban infrastructure and services in the northeast of the country are grossly inadequate and this third tranche loan will help Agartala and Aizwal improve and expand services, as well as strengthening the institutional, managerial, and financial capacity of service institutions.

The loan will support further investments to increase access to sustainable and improved urban services, with Aizwal and Agartala cities, selected for financing under the third tranche of the program based on their progress on reforms and implementation performance under earlier tranches.”

The third tranche loan from ADB’s ordinary capital resources has a 20-year term. The Ministry of Urban Development is responsible for implementing the tranche 3 activities and overall program, which are both due for completion by June 2019.

 ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members – 48 from the region.

Loan agreement formalises tranche financing to improve urban services and institutional capacity in Agartala and Aizawl. A signed loan agreement provides an $80 million third tranche under the North Eastern Region Capital Cities Development Investment Program to fund water supply, solid waste management, sanitation, and urban reforms in Agartala and Aizawl, strengthen service institutions, and expand sustainable urban services. The tranche, financed from ordinary capital resources with a 20-year term, is to be implemented and overseen by the Ministry of Urban Development, with tranche activities and the overall program due for completion by the program end date.