India signs two loan agreements worth $850 million with ADB
22 Dec 2009
The government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) today signed two loan agreements worth a total of $850 million. The loans consist of a $700 million loan for a second India infrastructure facility and a $150 million loan for the Khadi restructuring and development programme.
Anup K Pujari, joint secretary of the ministry of finance, government of India and Lesley B Lahm, officer-in-charge of ADB in India, signed the agreements.
The $700 million loan for the `Second India Infrastructure Project Financing Facility (Project-1)', the second in a series of ADB loans to India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL), will support the government's infrastructure development agenda through enhancing the availability of the long-term funds for infrastructure financing, a government release said.
IIFCL will on lend the funds to private sector entities at commercial terms with over 20-year maturity for infrastructure projects in the public private partnership (PPP) mode. This facility will enable IIFCL to further the ongoing work of IIFCL in supporting the PPP projects. The period of utilisation of this loan will be 5 years for three tranches.
The earlier ADB loan facility for $500 million was approved in 2007.
The $700 million loan will be released in three tranches, over a period of three years. The first tranche will be $210 million. IIFCL will be the executing agency.