Govt in talks with ADB for irrigation project fund

FE Report
The government is going to implement an irrigation management improvement project with the major part of the financing likely to come from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), officials say.
The Economic Relations Division (ERD) received a negotiation proposal on a loan from the ADB to the tune of US $ 46 million for the project.
The project, to be implemented over a period of five years from 2014 to 2019 at a cost of US $ 57.9 million, is aimed at improving the irrigation management system in the country and contributing to agricultural development, they say.
Of the total amount, the ADB will provide US $ 46 million and the project beneficiaries will contribute $ 4.2 million in the form of water service charges and $ 0.17 million for development of the farm canal system while the government will bear the remaining cost of $ 7.6 million, according to the Economic Relations Division (ERD).
The Development Project Proforma (DPP) has been prepared and sent to the Planning Commission for approval.
The ADB sent draft loan documents like loan agreement, project agreement and project administration manual (PAM) for negotiation on the basis of the aide-memoire of its fact-finding and consultation missions, sources say.
The loan documents to be negotiated were sent to the concerned offices for the next course of action, according to them.