29 January 2010 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: On Friday, 22 January, the World Bank and India’s Ministry of Finance signed a deal that provides $770 million in loans for three development projects in India. All three projects will take place in the state of Andhra Pradesh in the south, over the course of the next five years.
Erik Nora from the World Bank told MediaGlobal that $320 million has been allocated to the Andhra Pradesh Road Sector Project, which will improve and construct 429 km (266 mi.) of roads and 6,242 km (3,878 mi.) of highway. The state’s Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project will receive $150 million, which will be run through the World Bank’s International Development Association and is expected to supply water to 2.1 million people and sanitation services to 1 million people in six different districts. The remaining $300 million will fund the World Bank’s Andhra Pradesh Municipal Development Project, which seeks to improve regional urban services, improve the states institutional framework, and enhance urban technical and financial capacity.
Currently, India is the largest borrower from the World Bank, with 68 funded projects, and a total ongoing debt of a little over $34 billion. The past fiscal year alone, India commanded $5.5 billion worth of assistance. Nicola Winter