Andhra garners $300 million World Bank loan for urban projects

In what could give a major fillip to urban development in Andhra Pradesh, the World Bank has approved a loan of $300 million (Rs1,432 crore) for the Andhra Pradesh municipal development project through the International Development Association, the bank's soft lending arm.

At a meeting on urban development in Hyderabad today, chief minister K Rosaiah said the World Bank loan would provide a big impetus to the taking up of works in various municipalities to meet civic and infrastructure needs of urban people.

The municipal development project is estimated to cost Rs1,670.55 crore ($350 million), for which the state government would contribute the balance of $50 million (Rs239 crore). The project would commence from 15 February, and is expected to be completed by the end of 2015.

"The loan agreement is expected to be signed during this month", Rosaiah said.

This is the second World Bank loan that the state has garnered in recent days. In late December, the bank approved an IDA credit of $100 million in additional financing for the poverty reduction programme in Andhra Pradesh that has reportedly raised incomes of some 10 million rural women since its inception in 2003.

"This is the second additional financing for this project and it will help scale up the impressive achievements to date," the Bank announced on 22 December. The credit has a 35-year tenure and a 10-year grace period.

The objectives of the Andhra Pradesh rural poverty reduction project will remain the same as the original project approved by the World Bank in 2003. The project is aimed at enabling the rural poor to improve their livelihoods and quality of life.