The Government of India and Asian Development Bank (ADB) today signed a $125 million loan to develop climate-resilient sewage collection and treatment, and drainage and water supply systems in three cities in the state of Tamil Nadu.

The signatories to the tranche 3 loan for Tamil Nadu Urban Flagship Investment Program were Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance who signed for the Government of India, and Hoe Yun Jeong, Officer-in-Charge of ADB’s India Resident Mission who signed for ADB.

The financing is the third and the last tranche of the $500 million multi-tranche financing facility (MFF) for the Program approved by ADB in 2018 to build priority water supply, sewerage, and drainage infrastructure in strategic industrial corridors across 10 cities in the state. The tranche 3 loan covers Coimbatore, Madurai, and Thoothukudi.

After signing the loan agreement, Mr Mishra said that the ADB financing will help ensure universal access to basic water and sanitation services and improve resilience against floods in the project target areas which are also the industrial hubs of Tamil Nadu.

“Through this project, ADB continues to support developing and improving urban services in the state by deploying new approaches such as build and operate modality, automatic meters for bulk water users, and real-time monitoring through supervisory control and data acquisition systems,” said Mr. Jeong. “ADB’s urban investments are aligned to support strategic industrial corridor development in Tamil Nadu.”

The financing will support the development of two sewage treatment plants in Coimbatore with 529 kilometers (km) of sewage collection pipelines, install 14 pump and lift stations and build 14 km of sewage pumping mains. In Thoothukudi, climate-resilient stormwater drainage system will be developed.

In Madurai, the project will support the commissioning of 813 km of new water supply distribution pipelines that will connect 163,958 households to 115 newly established district metered area with smart water features to reduce nonrevenue water. In Coimbatore and Madurai, two all-female self-help groups will be trained on the benefits of household connection to sewage collection system, water conservation, sanitation, and health and hygiene.

Urban infrastructure financing enables climate-resilient water, sanitation and drainage upgrades promoting universal access and resilience in Tamil Nadu cities. The loan finances climate-resilient sewage collection and treatment, stormwater drainage, and expanded water supply distribution in three Tamil Nadu cities, including construction of sewage treatment plants, pipelines, pump stations and distribution mains; it promotes nonrevenue water reduction through district metered areas and smart meters and adopts build-and-operate arrangements, SCADA monitoring, and community training for sustained service delivery.