ADB agrees $245m loan for safe water projects in India

The Asian Development Bank has approved a financing package totaling $245 million to provide safe, sustainable, and inclusive drinking water service to about 1.65 million people in three districts of West Bengal state, India, affected by arsenic, fluoride, and salinity.

The project will provide continuous potable water through metered connections to about 390,000 individual households in Bankura, North 24 Parganas, and Purba Medinipur. Water will be provided through bulk water systems, consisting of intakes, water treatment plants, and transmission mains that will be connected to a grid with existing and new systems in the project districts.