ADB funds Kolkata sanitation works

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved loans worth US$ 400 million to assist the Indian city of Kolkata expand and improve its water and sanitation systems.

Kolkata is India’s seventh largest city, with a rapidly expanding economy. However, inadequate investment and poor management means water and sewerage systems fail to serve all the city’s residents and are not sustainable to those they do reach.

The first loan of US$ 100 million will be used to improve and upgrade two existing water treatment plants, with the aim of providing 24-hour water supply in target areas. New sewer pipes, pump stations, and 2,300 new sewerage connections will also be installed in the southern peripheral part of the city.

Subsequent funding will help finance the installation of 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.

Ultimately, the goal of the Kolkata Environmental Improvement Investment Programme is to restore water production capacity to 1,478 million litres per day and ensure leaks on 700 km of water pipes are repaired by 2023. It aims to install 170 km of sewer-drain pipes and provide new sewerage connections to 27,000 homes.