Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Mizoram to sign Rs 151.15 cr loan with ADB

Aizawl, Nov 14 : With project-1 under the North Eastern Region Capital Cities Investment Programme (NERCCDIP) having been implemented, Mizoram is soon to sign another loan deal worth Rs 151.15 crore with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to execute project-2.

Urban development and poverty alleviation (UD and PA) principal secretary R L Rinawma will sign the agreement on behalf of the Mizoram government with ADB officials on November 19, an official statement said today.

"The ADB loan would be utilised for improving urban infrastructures like water supply, sewage system and solid and liquid waste management," the official statement said.

Elaborating on the projects, officials said the greater Aizawl water supply scheme (GAWSS) phase-II would be provided with adequate power supply. "Once completed, the GAWSS Phase-II would be utilised to its fullest capacity," officials said.

The main water supply pipes of greater Aizawl water supply scheme phase-I, which are as old as 25 years, would be replaced with new ones. Three large water reservoirs would also be constructed.

This project would also revolutionise liquid waste disposal system in Aizawl.

"All the liquid waste will be sent to a treatment plant from where it will be recycled. This improved sewage system will prevent landslides in Aizawl to a great extent," the officials said.

Public urinals will be constructed in ten different locations within the city and five septic tank trucks would be purchased.

While 70 per cent of the loan would be repaid by the central government, repayment of the remaining 30 per cent would be borne by the Mizoram government.

Officials said Mizoram was adjudged the best performer among the NE states under project-I of NERCCDIP.

In 2009, the ADB approved a loan of 100 million dollars to carry out fiscal and social reforms in Mizoram under the project named Mizoram Public Resource Management Programme. The first installment of 47 million dollars was released in 2009.