ADB approves funds to build India’s first coastal industrial corridor
20 September, New Delhi
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Tuesday approved 631 million dollars in loans and grants to develop the first key 800-kilometer section of a planned 2,500-km-long East Coast Economic Corridor that will spur development on India’s eastern coast and create seamless trade links with other parts of South and Southeast Asia.
The Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor section of the East Coast Economic Corridor, connecting four economic hubs and nine industrial clusters, will mark the first industrial corridor developed along India’s coast.
The East Coast Economic Corridor will ultimately extend from Kolkata in West Bengal in the northeast of India to Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu near the southern-most point of the country.
Announcing the funds approval, Manoj Sharma, Principal Urban Development Specialist, ADB’s South Asia Department, said, “By combining state-of-the-art industrial clusters, efficient transport, and reliable water and power supplies with a skilled workforce and good business policies, we expect the Visakhapatnam-Chennai industrial corridor to become a favored investment destination.
“We estimate that by 2025, annual industrial output along the corridor will increase fourfold to 64 billion dollar from about 16 billion dollar in 2015 if investment opportunities are maximized over the coming 10 years,” he said.
ADB’s loans and grants comprise of a 500 million dollar two-tranche facility to build key infrastructure and a 125 million dollar two-tranche loan to help with industrial policies and business promotion.
There will also be a 5 million dollar-grant from the multi-donor Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund that is managed by ADB to build climate change resilient infrastructure and a 1 million dollar-technical assistance to help the Andhra Pradesh government manage the corridor. The Indian government will provide extra funding of 215 million dollars to the 846 million dollars project.
The new infrastructure will be built in the four main centers along the corridor – Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Amaravati, and Yerpedu-Srikalahasti, as well as in nearby industrial areas. It will include 138 km of state highways and roads, effluent and water treatment plants, 488 km of drinking water pipes, 47 km of storm drains, 10 power substations, and 281 kilometers of power transmission and distribution lines.