ADB and India sign loan agreement to improve WASH services in Kolkata

The Program will target expansion of sewerage and drainage services in selected peripheral areas of KMC to at least 3,000 additional households and provide sewage treatment for at least 100,000 households.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a $100 Million Loan Agreement in New Delhi today to continue to expand sewerage and drainage coverage, provide sewage treatment and strengthen the capacity of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) for resilient urban services.

The Third and Final Tranche Loan under the $400 Million Multi Tranche facility, Kolkata Environmental Improvement Investment Program, will target expansion of sewerage and drainage services in selected peripheral areas of KMC to at least 3,000 additional households and provide sewage treatment for at least 100,000 households.

The signatories to the tranche 3 loan agreement were Mr Sameer Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, who signed for Government of India; and Mr Kenichi Yokoyama, Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission, who signed for ADB.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Khare said that the New Project will supplement the efforts made in the previous phases that aim to provide affordable access to water supply, sewerage and drainage services in Kolkata, and enhance quality and sustainability of urban service delivery through institutional reforms and capacity building.

Mr Yokoyama said that the financing under Tranche 3 will be used to construct 43 km of additional sewer drain pipes, four pumping stations, 13 km of pumping mains, and three sewage treatment plants to improve sanitation service quality and climate resilience in selected areas of KMC.

The overall goal of the Kolkata Environmental Improvement Investment Program, approved in 2014, is to restore water production capacity to 1,478 million litres per day and ensure leaks on 700 kilometres of water pipes are repaired by 2023. It aims to install 170 kilometres of sewer-drain pipes and provide new sewerage connections to 27,000 homes, at least 15% of which will be vulnerable households or households headed by women. Installation of 40,000 water meters in pilot areas should help improve and sustain water management. Sub-projects under the previous two tranches are already helping achieve some of these outputs.

(With inputs from PIB)