ADB Loan for Meghalaya Power Distribution Sector

Multilateral funding agency Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday said it will provide a loan of USD 562.8 million (about Rs 4,143 crore) for power projects in Uttar Pradesh and Meghalaya.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD 430 million multi-tranche financing facility (MFF) to improve the quality and reliability of electricity supply in Uttar Pradesh in India, it said in a release.

Key Highlights

• Besides, ADB has also signed a USD 132.8 million loan to strengthen and modernise the distribution network and improve the quality of power supplied to households, industries, and businesses in Meghalaya, it said in a separate release.
• The Uttar Pradesh Power Distribution Network Rehabilitation Project will improve the efficiency and sustainability of power supply in the state.The project is estimated to benefit 70 million people in 46,000 rural villages, ADB said.
• It will also finance the construction of a parallel network of 11-kilovolt feeders with a total length of 17,000 km to separate the distribution of electricity between residential consumers and agriculture consumers.
• This will facilitate the use of solar energy to meet the agriculture demand, increase in electricity supply duration to rural residential consumers, and energy and water conservation.
• In addition, the project will improve the gender inclusivity, corporate governance, and financial management capacity of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL).
• Existing rural power distribution networks will be upgraded to enable the provision of reliable supply to customers in rural Uttar Pradesh in a financially sustainable manner, he said.
• ADB said the MFF is complemented by a USD 2 million technical assistance (TA) grant from the ADB TA Special Fund and the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction to strengthen the gender inclusivity and institutional capacity building of Uttar Pradesh power sector.

SOURCE: The New Indian Express

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