By IANS,
New Delhi : The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide India a $2 million technical assistance grant to help develop public-private partnership (PPP) projects in the areas of urban development, transportation, water, health and education, it was announced Tuesday.
The assistance will cover all aspects of project structuring – including institutional, financial, commercial, legal, social, environmental and technical structuring – leading to a competitive bid process to attract private sector participation.
ADB’s technical assistance is complemented by the India Infrastructure Project Development Fund (IIPDF), a facility of the Indian government.
“The ADB-IIPDF partnership will play a crucial role in actually demonstrating the benefits of PPPs through setting forth replicable PPP models with well-balanced risk and bankability structures,” said Anouj Mehta, senior infrastructure finance specialist at ADB’s Indian Resident Mission, in a statement issued in Manila Tuesday.
The Planning Commission has estimated that India requires investment of about $500 billion between 2007 and 2012 to bridge the current infrastructure deficiencies.