Agreement signed between India and World Bank

Union and Karnataka Government on 24 May 2016 signed 100 million US dollar loan and project agreement with World Bank to support ‘Karnataka Urban Water Supply Modernization project’. Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation (KUIDFC) is the implementing agency of the project. The loan, from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), has a 5-year grace period, and a maturity of 24 years. Objective of the project It aims at providing city-wide access to a continuous piped water supply in the eligible cities in Karnataka It also seeks to strengthen the water service delivery arrangements at the city level About the project • The project will be implemented over a period of six years, initially in the twin cities of Hubballi-Dharwad, with provision for other eligible cities to join the project at a later date. • Under the project, the Hubballi Dharwad Municipal Corporation has hired a professional water supply operating company for improving the water supply system, as also to manage the refurbished system through a 12-year contract in accordance with strict performance criteria. • The municipality will retain ownership of the water supply assets and control of the service delivery set up. • The project will help the Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation set up a city-level water utility that will take over water supply operations from the professional operating company at the end of its contract period. • The project will benefit about one million residents of the Hubballi-Dharwad, including estimated 160000 slum dwellers. The project would have four broad components: (i) Capital Investment Program (ii) Institution Building (iii) Technical Assistance for Sector Development (iv) Project Management Hubballi-Dharwad, the second largest urban center in Karnataka, will become one of the first Indian cities to provide citywide, continuous, piped water supply to its residents.