Six Assam districts to get new water plants, pipelines under $125m India-ADB project

New Delhi, Sept 23: The Centre and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed a USD 125-million loan agreement with an aim to enhance urban livability and bolster climate resilience in six districts of Assam.

The project will benefit 360,000 residents of Assam by delivering continuous metered water supply and upgrading storm water management systems, the finance ministry said, on Monday.

It also seeks to strengthen urban governance through institutional reforms and capacity building, the statement added.

Key infrastructure investments include the construction of six water treatment plants with a combined capacity of 72 million litres per day and 800 km distribution pipelines in the district headquarters of Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Dhubri, Goalpara, Golaghat, and Nalbari, the ministry noted.

Additionally, the statement stated that the project will also deploy a real-time monitoring system, aiming to maintain non-revenue water below 20 per cent.

Additionally, in Guwahati, the project will enhance storm water management in the Bahini Basin with flood diversion channels, upgraded drainage systems, and a nature-based retention pond to reduce flood discharge and improve groundwater recharge, the ministry added.

The signatories to the loan agreement for the Assam Urban Sector Development Project were Juhi Mukherjee, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance for the Government of India, and Mio Oka, Country Director, India Resident Mission, for ADB.

PTI