Himachal Pradesh gets $10m for subtropical horticulture project
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed two agreements for a US$231 million loan agreement for the construction of a 120 megawatts (MW) hydroelectric power plant in Assam that will enhance the availability of electricity for households and a US$10 million loan to help expand horticulture production on Himachal Pradesh.
The proposed hydroelectric project is a run-of-the-river project over the Kopili river which will help increase electricity supplied from clean energy by 469 gigawatt-hour (GWh) by 2025 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 360,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually.
Part of the loan will be used for project capacity building of Assam Power Generation Corporation Limited (APGCL) on construction, operations and maintenance and safeguards. The project will finance APGCL’s enterprise resource planning system.
It will also contribute to improving gender equity by enhancing the gender capacity of APGCL and improve women’s participation and contribution in training and community-led interventions.
A US$2 million grant from the Japan fund for poverty reduction (JFPR) is also associated with the project to finance equipment and consulting services to improve capacity for resource management and community resilience.
“Increased supply of affordable and clean electricity facilitated through the project will help improve living conditions, promote business expansion, and increase employment opportunities in the state beside reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Hoe Yun Jeong, Officer-in-Charge of ADB’s India Resident Mission, who signed for ADB on 30 Dec 2020.
The project will add to Assam’s power generation capacity from clean hydroelectric sources and improve electricity availability, added Dr. C. S. Mohapatra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, the loan signatory for the Government of India.
This is the third tranche loan for the ongoing Assam Power Sector Investment Programme that was approved by the ADB Board in July 2014. The programme, including its two previous tranches, focuses on enhancing the capacity and efficiency of the energy generation and distribution systems in Assam to improve electricity service to end-users.
The US$10 million loan is for project readiness financing (PRF) to help finance piloting activities, and design and capacity building for an ensuing project that aims to expand horticulture production and farm household income in the hill state of Himachal Pradesh.
The ensuing project, to be designed by the PRF, will support the development of subtropical horticulture, including cultivation of fruits and vegetables, in the state’s southern region which is currently lagging due to limited access to perennial water sources, crops losses due to wild animal encroachment and limited access to high-value markets.
The pilot activities supported by the PRF project include establishment or rehabilitation of 16 irrigation schemes for water extraction, distribution and storage; developing 17 subtropical horticulture plots for ultra-high-density production of selected fruits; fencing horticulture plots to protect crops from animal predation; and forming community horticulture production and marketing associations to build their capacities for business and marketing.
These pilot activities will then be scaled up under the ensuing project to be implemented in seven districts of Himachal Pradesh. The PRF also supports the establishment of a water user association (WUAs) on completed irrigation schemes and enhancing women’s participation.
The PRF project will support advanced actions to achieve a high level of project readiness through detailed design activities, capacity building of state-level agencies, and creating an enabling environment for subtropical horticulture development in the state, said Dr. Mohapatra.
“The PRF project aims to ensure implementation readiness with prior testing of new production technologies and marketing systems so that the ensuing project is cost-effective and gets completed in a timely manner to enhance farm profitability,” Jeong said.
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