The loan, from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), has a 5-year grace period and a final maturity of 35 years.

WASHINGTON, April 12, 2017 – The World Bank Board today approved a US$116.20 million loan for the Madhya Pradesh Urban Development Projectto strengthen the financial and administrative capacity of the Madhya Pradesh Urban Development Company Ltd (MPUDC). MPUDC will serve as a nodal implementing agency for the state and support Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) to implement citywide infrastructure improvement projects.

Based on the World Bank’s previous engagement with similar state municipal finance agencies in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, as well as its international experience in developing and strengthening similar institutions, the Government of Madhya Pradesh (GoMP) has now sought World Bank support for the institutional development of the MPUDC to help improve key urban services provided by ULBs, mainly in the areas of water and sanitation. MPUDC will also support GoMP prepare a plan for developing the Bhopal Indore Super Corridor (BISCO) region.

The project will support urban policy reforms in the state as identified under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), a mission aimed at transforming 500 cities and towns into efficient urban living spaces. At least 51 ULBs have been selected to implement these reforms.

Over 850,000 urban residents, of which at least 45 percent will be women, are expected to benefit directly through access to improved urban services across a range of urban sectors, mostly water and sanitation. With the consolidation of MPUDC as a nodal implementing agency of the state, many more residents are expected to be benefited through a series of investments undertaken by other development agencies and central government schemes.

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“The objective of this project is to develop institutions to ensure that good-quality urban infrastructure projects are made sustainable at the local level. The focus of this project is to support the Government of Madhya Pradesh develop the right rules, procedures, human capital and technical capacity of the MPUDC so that it can strengthen the ULBs to perform efficiently,” said Uri Raich and Abhijit Ray, World Bank’s Senior Urban Specialists and co-Task Team Leaders for the project.