Fund in place for “24X7 Power for All Project”.

India has secured US$400 million loans from the World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for a US$570 million power project in Andhra Pradesh.

The project is to increase the delivery of electricity to customers and to improve the operational efficiency and system reliability in distribution of electricity in selected areas on the 24-hourX7-day basis in the state.

The State government will fund the rest US$170 million project cost.

The loans were signed by Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary (MI), Department of Economic Affairs, Hisham Abdo, Operations Manager and Acting Country Director, World Bank (India) and D.J. Pandian Vice-President & Chief Investment Officer, AIIB.

The Program Implementing Entity Agreement was signed by K. Ranganatham, Adviser (Energy), Department of Energy, Government of Andhra Pradesh, the Country Director (India) on behalf of the World Bank and the Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, AIIB on behalf of the AIIB.

The Power for All program was launched in 2014 to provide an efficient, reliable and affordable electricity supply to all consumers across selected states within five years from the start of implementation of the program in each state. Andhra Pradesh is one of the first states selected for the rollout of the Power for All program.

Jin Liqun, President of AIIB, assured the bank’s supports for “its members in their transition towards a low-carbon energy mix by promoting the improvement of energy efficiency, such as upgrading the existing transmission and distribution networks. I am delighted that AIIB is working closely with India, who is our second largest shareholder, in energy and other infrastructure sectors, and we expect the Andhra Pradesh – 24×7 Power for All project to be the first of many projects AIIB invests in India.”

“The Power for All program in Andhra Pradesh will be the starting point for AIIB to extend its assistance to other countries in Asia moving towards an ‘Energy for all’ initiatives, “said D.J. Pandian, Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, AIIB. “This aligns well with AIIB’s mandate to promote economic development in Asia by helping build reliable and stable energy distribution systems.”

The project aims to support the implementation of the 24×7 Power for All plan in the State of Andhra Pradesh by strengthening the transmission and distribution network, increasing network capacity, improving system reliability and supporting operational reforms to improve the commercial performance of the state’s distribution companies.

It will directly contribute to the economic development of the State of Andhra Pradesh and India by increasing delivery of reliable, grid-based electricity to households, business and the agricultural sector. The project is co-financed with the World Bank. fii-news.com