NEW DELHI, Dec 28 (NNN-PTI) – The Indian government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), yesterday signed a 125-million-U.S. dollar loan, to develop a climate-resilient sewage collection and treatment, drainage and water supply systems, in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu, said the Ministry of Finance.
This third and final tranche of the 500 million U.S. dollar-loan will cover Tamil Nadu’s three cities, namely Coimbatore, Madurai, and Thoothukudi.
The ADB approved the programme in 2018, to build priority water supply, sewerage, and drainage infrastructure in strategic industrial corridors across as many as 10 cities in the state.
After signing the loan agreement, Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Finance, Rajat Kumar Mishra said, the ADB financing will help ensure universal access to basic water and sanitation services, besides improving resilience against floods in the project target areas, which are also the industrial hubs of Tamil Nadu.
Officer-in-Charge of ADB’s India Resident Mission, Hoe Yun Jeong, said, 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.
The financing will support the development of two sewage treatment plants in Coimbatore, with 529 km of sewage collection pipelines, install 14 pumps and lifts stations, and build 14 km of sewage pumping mains. In Thoothukudi, a climate-resilient storm-water 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 non-revenue water.– NNN-PTI
