Urban Infrastructure Project to Improve Life in Kerala
Urban Areas
MANILA, PHILIPPINES- ADB will help improve living conditions through
upgrading and expanding urban infrastructure under five municipal
governments in India's southern-most Kerala State, through a $221.2
million loan.The ADB loan will cover Kochi,
Kollam, Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram (the state capital), and Thrissur
municipalities with a combined population of 2.5 million. The figure
is projected to rise to about 3.6 million by project completion in
2011 and further to 6.2 million by 2021.Although
Kerala has performed considerably better than most Indian states in
terms of social development, lingering urban poverty remains a threat
to its future growth."Addressing the deficiencies
in Kerala's urban infrastructure, which is not keeping pace with the
rate of urbanization, will improve the state's prospects for economic
development," says Hun Kim, Director of ADB's Social Sectors
Division in its South Asia Department.
Kerala has the third highest population density (819
persons per square kilometer) in India and its urban settlements and
slums are overcrowded. The population of slums increased to 1.7 million
in 2001 from about 1.2 million in 1991. Urban unemployment stood at
over 10%, one of the highest in India.At present,
Kerala suffers inadequate services provision in urban areas due to
the poor condition of existing infrastructure and facilities.
Water availability is uneven, ranging from only two
to three hours in Kochi, Kollam, and Thrissur, to eight to 10 hours
in Thiruvananthapuram. Drainage is poorly maintained and plagued by
heavy siltation and clogging. Solid waste management planning has
not been systematic because of an absence of clear institutional responsibilities,
lack of skilled staff and equipment, and funding constraints. The
road network is congested due to poor traffic engineering and management.
To address these problems the project will:
Improve urban infrastructure and services improvement,
including the rehabilitation, improvement, and expansion of urban
water supply, sewerage and sanitation, urban drainage, solid waste
management, and roads and transportation;
Make basic infrastructure and services improvements as well as livelihood
enhancement focused on the poor communities;
Offer investments to other smaller urban local bodies in the state;
and
Support capacity building and project management.
The total cost of the project is about $316.1 million, of which the
Kerala government will provide $59.8 million, while the municipal
corporations will provide $35.1 million.
The ADB loan has a 25-year term, including a grace
period of five years and an interest rate determined in accordance
with ADB's LIBOR-based lending facility.
The Local Self Government (Urban) Department of the
state government is the executing agency for the project, which is
due for completion around end-2011.ADB has provided
31 technical assistance grants totaling $17 million to India's urban
sector since 1993, and has approved loans for 11 projects in the urban
sector totaling $2.6 billion.
$750 Million ADB Financing Facility to Help Improve India's Rural
Road Network
MANILA, PHILIPPINES - ADB has set up a US$750 million
financing facility to assist the Indian Government's nationwide rural
roads program.Rural road investment is one of the key features of
the Government's poverty reduction agenda for the rural sector nationwide.
The Government's rural roads investment scheme - Pradhan Mantri Gram
Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) - aims to provide all-weather road connections
to currently unserved villages in rural areas, where about 70% of
the population lives.
Now in its fifth year, this scheme has improved 66,000
km of rural roads and another 47,000 km are nearing completion. It
also has strengthened state level agencies to carry out the scheme.
Latest estimates for the overall financing requirements
are about $30 billion. Although some funds are available through excise
taxes and aid agencies, including ADB and the World Bank, the funding
gap is huge. Therefore the Government has requested further assistance
from ADB.
The Multitranche Financing Facility, a new ADB financing
modality, will be used to finance investments in these PMGSY states,
for construction/upgrading of up to 30,000 km of rural roads connecting
about 19,000 villages. To ensure success, the facility will also assist
in planning, design, operation of the infrastructure, and in safeguards,
road safety and road maintenance.
"As so many state level agencies have different
levels of capacity to absorb donor funds, flexible financing arrangements
are needed that allow fund allocations on the basis of progress achieved
and readiness for new investment in each participating state,"
says Hideaki Iwasaki, an ADB Project Specialist.
Funds from the facility will be provided over the
next five years as multiple loans, each financing a clearly defined
investment project. Some 3,200 km of rural roads - about 1,000 km
each in Assam and West Bengal and about 1,200 km in Orissa - will
be tackled in the first stage. The remaining projects will be prepared
by participating states in three annual batches.
The total cost of the investment program is estimated
at about $2.1 billion. ADB's financing facility, accounting for 36%
of the total, is funded from ADB's ordinary capital resources. Financing
made available will be subject to interest that will be determined
in accordance with ADB's LIBOR-based facility.
"Although the immediate result of the program
will be better roads, the long term aim is to reduce poverty and deprivation
and bring jobs, economic opportunities, and services closer to those
presently living in hard to access areas of rural India," Mr.
Iwasaki adds.The Ministry of Rural Development
and the governments of the participating state are the executing agencies
for the investment program.
KAPIL DEV & STEVE WAUGH BAT FOR TSUNAMI VICTIMS IN SRI LANKA
SPORTS TO HELP RESTORE NORMALCY TO LIVES OF CHILDREN FROM SEENINGAMI
VILLAGE
Cricketing
legends Kapil Dev from India and Steve Waugh from Australia, two of
the biggest all-rounders the game has ever seen, joined hands to play
for the children of the tsunami-affected village of Seenigama, near
Galle in Sri Lanka. The players launched a new project, aimed at helping
the victims.
The project in Sri Lanka is the 39th project of its
kind launched under the aegis of the Laureus World Sports Academy
backed by DaimlerChrysler and Richemont Group, both keen supporters
of such causes through Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.
Kapil Dev and Steve Waugh recently visited the tsunami-affected
village of Seenigama engaging young boys and girls, aged six and above,
in various inter-village sports leagues with friendly matches and
training sessions. The project aims to involve an estimated 800 participants
in such activities and seeks to use sport as a means to support the
region in its healing process and restore community spirit.
During the visit, Kapil Dev and Steve Waugh, both
members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, took part in a cricket
match with the children, much to the excitement of these youngsters.
A large crowd if villagers who are now recovering from trauma, watched
them as the children enjoyed their game with these accomplished cricketers.
Indian cricket legend Kapil Dev is an enthusiastic
supporter of the underprivileged young in his own country said: “The
tsunami left a trail of destruction in the whole of South East Asia
and the Indian subcontinent. Now almost a year later when major relief
agencies are winding down their work, organisations such as Laureus
will have to step in to do what they can to help in rebuilding. Sport
is a wonderful means to achieve this as it is the key to creating
team spirit and unity of purpose.”
For Australia’s most successful cricket captain
Steve Waugh, it was a very emotional moment. He was named the newest
Laureus World Sports Academy member in Sydney on December 2, and within
days he was in Sri Lanka for the launch of a Laureus project.
“I was delighted to be invited to become a Laureus
Academy member and doubly delighted to get down to work for the Laureus
Sport for Good Foundation. Achievements on the sporting field are
great, but it’s only a game. Real achievement is in helping
people in situations like this. I know this is what all my fellow
Laureus Academy members believe,” Waugh remarked.
“Despite the dreadful images on television immediately
after the disaster, I don’t think people in the western world
could fathom how traumatic the events of December 26 could have been
for those in Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Thailand. It makes us more determined
to do what we can to help these youngsters. Many have lost family
members and friends and this will always be in their memory. But we
can try to restore some degree of normality to their lives,”
added Waugh.
Sport is an ideal medium to tackle a wide range of
social issues and generate a positive impact. The benefits sports
could bring to the region are immense.
Sports can help in building leadership and teamwork
skills, introducing stability and a sense of enjoyment, increasing
confidence and participation of girls in community planning, increasing
collaboration and information sharing amongst the villagers involved
and facilitate the post-tsunami healing process to continue.
One of the key objectives of the scheme is to increase
participation and interaction amongst the people of Seenigama and
its surrounding villages.The Laureus project
will gradually expand to cover more organised sports including volleyball,
cricket, badminton, swimming, football, cross-country race and table
tennis. This will also be linked to the other critical elements of
rebuilding – medical care, family support and educational activities.DaimlerChrysler
and Richemont, the Founding Patrons of the Academy, underwrite and
stage the Laureus World Sports Awards and provide core funding for
Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.
Dubai Getting Ready for DSF 2006
The city is getting decorated, decked up in lights
and banners, hoardings and buntings. There's an air of expectance,
there's a feeling of bonhomie and joy... In all of Dubai! Even otherwise
branded beautiful with its wide roads, immaculately planned landscapes,
and buildings that take the breath away, all of Dubai is readying
itself to welcome the global visitor, the man, woman and child, who
come to the emirate every year this time of the year for that unforgettable
experience – the Dubai Shopping Festival.
DSF 2006 starts January 4, 2006 and runs till February
4, 2006, 32 days of fun and entertainment, bargains and sales, raffles
and promotions, street performances and the Night Souk, fashion shows
and talent hunts… The Dubai Shopping Festival 2006 is on its
way, and every street and every lamppost standing upright proclaims
the coming of DSF 2006.
The Dubai International Airport will obviously be
proclaiming loud and clear but so shall the main entrance points to
the city – like the Sharjah-Dubai entrance, the Abu Dhabi-Dubai
entrance and the Al Ain-Dubai entrance.
The roads, they will be festooned like a bride, with
the bridegroom in tow – roads like Al Riqqa Road, Al Seef Road,
and all the bridges in Dubai.
The decoration this year round, for the 11th edition
of the DSF, is different in terms of branding and lighting, with the
job given to some new and professional companies. And
what does the decorations say: They send out a message – Another
DSF is on its way, and it’s time to welcome the world to the
DSF, to the city that gives the festival its spirit. The
Dubai Shopping Festival 2006 runs between January 4 and February 4,
2006.