ADB's $400 mn loan to improve water, sanitation in Kolkata

An estimated 300 mn litres of water is lost every day along 5,700 km network in the city due to poor infra

Multilateral funding agency ADB will provide $400 million loan to improve water and sanitation system in peripheral areas of Kolkata.

 

The loan would help the city improve water and sanitation system in peripheral areas of the fast-growing metropolis which were missing out on quality services, Asian Development Bank said.

 

"Kolkata is India's seventh largest city, with a rapidly expanding economy, but it is struggling to provide decent basic services to all its residents, especially those in the booming outer areas," said Fei Yue, Director of the South Asia Urban Development and Water Division at ADB.

 

Inadequate investment and poor management meant water and sewerage systems failed to serve all the city's residents and were not sustainable to those they do reach, it said.

 

An estimated 300 million litres of water is lost every day along the 5,700 kilometre network, undermining income for water suppliers. At the same time, much of the operating machinery, some up to 90 years old, uses far more electricity than the modern equipment.

 

"If we don't improve the systems now, the disparities between the central and peripheral areas will get worse," Yue said.

 

ADB said the funds would be provided in three batches through a multi-tranche financing facility.

 

The first loan of $100 million will help restore the original production capacity of two existing water treatment plants, cutting water losses, and gradually rolling out 24-hour water supply in target areas.

 

ADB said new sewer pipes, pump stations and 2,300 new sewerage connections would be installed in the southern peripheral part of the city.

 

"The loan will also help the Kolkata Municipal Corporation put together a long-term cost recovery and subsidy plan that will ensure high-quality water and sanitation services are maintained."

 

The funding agency said subsequent tranches will continue installing sewage and direct water pipes in the eastern and western outlying areas of the city and build three sewage treatment plants using technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

 

ADB's loans, it said, would help Kolkata Municipal Corporation implement its $4 billion water and sewerage plan. They build on two previous ADB loans totalling $330 million in 2000 and 2006 to renovate the city's sewer-drain network.