India-ADB inks pact worth USD 375 mn.

India and ADB have signed USD 375 million pact for loans and grants to develop 800-km Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor, which is the first phase of a planned 2,500-km East Coast Economic Corridor. ADB had last September approved USD 631 million in loans and grants for the industrial corridor.

The Asian Development Bank said in a statement that it approved loans comprising a USD 500 million for multi tranche facility to build key infrastructure in the four main centres along the corridor — Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Amaravati, and Yerpedu-Srikalahasti in Andhra Pradesh, reports PTI.

The first tranche of USD 245 million that was signed will finance sub projects to develop high-quality internal infrastructure in 2 of the 4 nodes of the corridor — Visakhapatnam and Yerpedu-Srikalahasti. Another component of the approved ADB funds that the signatories signed was a USD 125 million policy-based loan that will be used for capacity development of institutions engaged in corridor management, provide support to enhance ease of doing business and for supporting industrial and sector policies to stimulate industrial development, it added.

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