Chennai, Dec 28 (KNN) The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday signed a USD 125 million loan agreement with the Government of India to improve urban services in Tamil Nadu.

ADB has approved the loan for the development of climate-resilient sewage collection and treatment, and drainage and water supply systems in three cities of Tamil Nadu.

The signatories to the tranche 3 loan for Tamil Nadu Urban Flagship Investment Program were Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance and Hoe Yun Jeong, Officer-in-Charge of ADB’s India Resident Mission.

As per the official statement, this was the third and the last tranche of the USD 500 million multi-tranche financing facility (MFF) for the Program approved by ADB in 2018.

The USD 500 million package was signed with the aim to build priority water supply, sewerage, and drainage infrastructure in strategic industrial corridors across 10 cities in the state.

The tranche 3 loan covers Coimbatore, Madurai, and Thoothukudi.

Speaking at the MoU signing ceremony, Mishra said that the ADB financing will help ensure universal access to basic water and sanitation services and improve resilience against floods in the project target areas which are also the industrial hubs of Tamil Nadu.

“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,” Jeong said.

As per reports, ADB’s urban investments are aligned to support strategic industrial corridor development in Tamil Nadu.

The financing will support the development of two sewage treatment plants in Coimbatore with 529 kilometers (km) of sewage collection pipelines, install 14 pump and lift stations and build 14 km of sewage pumping mains. In Thoothukudi, climate-resilient stormwater 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 nonrevenue water.

In Coimbatore and Madurai, two all-female self-help groups will be trained on the benefits of household connection to sewage collection system, water conservation, sanitation, and health and hygiene.  (KNN Bureau)