Smart cities get $1.5-bn WB, ADB booster

Link Road Connecting NH 24 NH 58 Ghaziabad
In a major financial booster to the much hyped smart city projects, the multilateral funding bodies including Asian Development Bank and the World Bank have agreed to provide $1-bn and 0.5-bn respectively to build these projects, Secretary, Urban Development, Rajiv Gauba, said in a statement. Adding more information to it, he told, the Smart Cities that are currently under construction in Ahmedabad, Surat, Pune, Bhubaneswar, Udaipur, Jaipur, Ludhiana and Jabalpur are going to be beneficiaries of funding assistance.

Stressing the importance of resource mobilisation and the creation of municipal-level bonds, he urged the cities to work toward achieving decent enough credit ratings from agencies approved by the Securities and Exchange Board of India. Credit rating and similar parameters of 85 cities have already been initiated under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and all the 500 Mission cities shall complete this process in one year. During the discussion on resource mobilisation through municipal bonds, it is informed that the U.S. Treasury had expressed willingness to be the transaction adviser for the Pune Municipality, which enjoys credit rating of 'AA Stable', he added.
Published on 26 April 2016
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