The Indian government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) agreed a $251 million loan for climate-resilient infrastructure on Thursday
On Thursday, India and the international lending agency ADB agreed a $251 million loan to boost Chennai’s flood resilience. “To strengthen the resilience of Chennai city to floods, the Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) today signed a USD 251 million loan for climate-resilient, integrated urban flood protection and management in the Chennai-Kosasthalaiyar basin,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement.
The agreement was signed by Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, and Takeo Konishi, Country Director of the Asian Development Bank’s India Resident Mission. Mr Mishra stated that the project interventions will assist to lessen the susceptibility of communities in the Chennai-Kosasthalaiyar basin to recurrent floods, which have wreaked havoc on property and livelihoods in recent years. Building disaster-resilient infrastructure, he said, will help communities manage with increasing rainfall, rising sea levels, and cyclone-caused storm surges, as well as protect lives, the economy, and the environment.
“The project would increase the capacity of the Greater Chennai Corporation and communities for better preparation planning to convert Chennai into a more livable metropolis,” Konishi added. “Rapid urbanisation in Chennai has encroached on the city’s natural terrain, lowering water retention capacity and making the city prone to severe flooding. The project will provide climate-resilient flood prevention infrastructure in metropolitan areas “According to the statement. It will build 588 kilometres of new stormwater drains, rehabilitate or replace 175 kilometres of stormwater drains, improve 11 kilometres of water-carrying capacity in the Ambattur, Ariyallur, Kadappakkam, and Korattur channels, and upgrade and build a stormwater pumping station. It would also rebuild four disaster relief camps and install 23,000 catch pits in roadside drains to recharge the groundwater aquifer.