By IANS
Chandigarh : Leading Japanese financial institution, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), will fund a Rs.30 billion public health project in Punjab to provide 100 percent water supply and sewerage connectivity in all major cities.
The project will cover Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala and Bathinda, a state government spokesman said Thursday.
A decision in this regard was taken at a high level meeting of both sides here Thursday. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was present.
"The plight of civic amenities in the urban areas of the state is shocking and needs revolutionary initiative to improve the quality of life for the common man," Badal said.
In the first phase, JBIC will fund a project for total water supply, sewerage connectivity and garbage disposal in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar. It is estimated to cost Rs.3.6 billion.
The Japanese firm will cover the entire cost in the form of a soft loan at a nominal rate of interest of 0.75 percent. The loan will be recovered over a period of 30 years with a 10-year moratorium.
The spokesman said that sewage treatment plants and solid garbage disposal plants for every city would be covered under the second phase of the project.
JBIC officials said that Punjab was the first state to benefit from its India funding programme.