ADB to provide Rs 5598-crore loan to Punjab for urban development projects: Govt

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed in-principle to provide Rs 5,598-crore loan on nominal interest rate to Punjab for various urban development projects, according to a state government statement today.

Punjab's Local Government and Tourism Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu met Asian Development Bank's head of India operations Kenichi Yokoyama seeking financial assistance for various projects such as reinstatement of sewage treatment plants under Smart City Mission and Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).

An ADB mission would visit Punjab in mid-July to finalise the modalities of these projects, the statement said.

Giving details, the minister said that the Smart City project is worth Rs 2,943 crore in which ADB would contribute Rs 1,606 crore and the Union and Punjab governments would contribute Rs 1,337 crore.

The project would completely transform three big cities of Punjab -- Ludhiana, Amritsar and Jalandhar -- on infrastructural, urban transport system, sewerage and sanitation fronts.

Similarly, under AMRUT, a project worth Rs 2,426 crore has been chalked out in which the contribution of ADB would be Rs 1,387 crore and that of the Union and Punjab governments would be Rs 1,039 crore, the statement said.

The minister said that in order to run and re-instate the defunct sewerage treatment plants (STPs) in Punjab, the ADB would provide Rs 209-crore assistance.

Sidhu added that the chief minister has formulated a plan for providing clean drinking water of canal to residents of Patiala City and a project worth Rs 699.18 crore of ADB has been prepared for turning this into reality.

To give final touches to the project, a delegation of ADB would visit Punjab on July 16. The minister said that it is the target of the state government to provide clean drinking water of canal to the people and water treated by the sewerage treatment plants for the irrigation of the crops.

On the tourism side, the minister said the department has chalked out several tourist circuits comprising religious, historical and tourist places of Punjab.

He said that the ADB has already sanctioned loan of Rs 340 crore.

The minister expressed confidence that the department would get financial assistance to the tune of Rs 500-1,000 crore for transforming these spots into a heaven for the tourists. To ensure this, the department would soon send a detailed project report (DPR) to the ADB.