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Our Bureau

Hyderabad, Oct. 18 Asian Development Bank (ADB) has mooted special purpose vehicles (SPVs) for developing water supply systems in municipal areas.

“We have been supporting India at macro level in developing infrastructure, including water infrastructure. But this is not enough. We need to help urban civic bodies to translate their ideas into action,” Mr Kunio Senga, Director-General (South Asia Department) of the bank, told Business Line.

Mr Senga was here in connection with the two-day workshop on mainstreaming public-private partnerships in the urban sector.

The bank’s exposure to water sector in India is of the order of $2.5 billion, constituting about 20 per cent of its support for various sectors in the country. The bank is supporting an SPV effort in Nagpur on a pilot basis.

Earlier, addressing the inaugural workshop, he said the bank would spend $3 million to establish public-private partnership (PPP) cells in 14 States in India.

The Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, said that inviting private investments in urban water infrastructure is not privatisation.

Alluding to rapid urbanisation, he said there was a need to tell and convince people that they would not be paying more than what they were paying at present in a PPP regime.

Mr Arvind Mayaram, Joint Secretary (Department of Economic Affairs), also allayed fears that water prices would go up if private players came in. The Government could still decide on pricing. It can continue to provide subsidies to the sector, if need be, he added.

More Stories on : Water | RBI & Other Central Banks | Andhra Pradesh

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