ADB signs USD 270m loan to boost capacities of urban local bodies in Madhya Pradesh

This is additional financing to scale up the scope of the ongoing Madhya Pradesh Urban Services Improvement Project, which was approved in 2017 with a $275 million loan. It will expand the outcome of the current project by covering additional 64 small cities, benefiting 185,000 households that consist of about 1.3 million people.

The signatories to the loan agreement were Sameer Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary (Fund Bank and ADB), Department of Economic Affairs in India’s Ministry of Finance, who signed on behalf of the Government of India, and Takeo Konishi, Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission, who signed for ADB.

“The project will improve livability in selected cities with the provision of universal access to basic water and sanitation services for the residents,” said Mr Khare after signing the loan agreement. “This is aligned to 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.” “Through this project, ADB will continue innovative approaches and good practices of the ongoing project including universal coverage with 100% household metering, full operation and maintenance cost recovery, and reducing non-revenue water,” said Mr Konishi. “The provision of inclusive water and sanitation services to the urban poor will help achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 or access to clean water and sanitation for all.” 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.

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.