ADB approves $200-mn loan for sewerage, drainage project in Kolkata
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $200 million loan to enhance the development of climate- and disaster-resilient sewerage and drainage infrastructure in Kolkata.
The project is aimed at improving the livability – living conditions and health outcomes, particularly for vulnerable groups including women and children – of the capital city of West Bengal.
The project, part of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Sustainability, Hygiene, and Resilience (Sector) Project, seeks to reduce people’s exposure to waterborne and vector-borne diseases, while also addressing flood risks.
Kolkata, one of India’s most populous and densely populated cities, faces significant challenges due to inadequate drainage and sewerage systems, causing urban floods and unhygienic environment. These issues are exacerbated by increased heavy rains due to climate changes, said an official statement.
To address these challenges, the project will construct 84 kilometers (km) of combined trunk and secondary sewerage and drainage pipelines, 176 km of combined lateral sewerage and drainage pipelines up to customer connections, and 50,000 household sewer connections. It will construct one sewage treatment plant and five pumping stations.
The project will benefit over 277,000 residents.
Also, project will support Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) in developing a comprehensive IT-based asset management system, enhance property tax revenue, expand the early flood warning system developed through an earlier ADB intervention, raise community awareness on water, sanitation, and hygiene and support women’s employment through skills training and internship programme.
“The project builds on ADB’s 25-year partnership with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), working to make Kolkata a more livable city through phased, integrated investments to improve urban services, operational efficiency, institutional effectiveness, and long-term sustainability,” said ADB Water and Urban Development Portfolio Management Unit Head Hikaru Shoji.
“As the next phase of our urban development efforts in Kolkata, this project builds on earlier initiatives to expand sewerage and drainage infrastructure, improve hygiene conditions, and strengthen KMC’s governance and revenue generation efforts”, Shoji was quoted as saying in the statement.
