VIJAYAWADA: In order to complete all the irrigation projects it has taken up expeditiously, the State government is likely to borrow heavily from banks. The AP Cabinet, after discussions with bank representatives, has decided to seek loans from an Indian bank which offered the lowest interest rate of the lot.Of the 27 projects which the AP government has initiated, the Centre will bear the complete expenditure incurred in the construction of the Polavaram project, but the state must bear the expenses of the rest.
As the Central government has revised loan limitation from Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 3,000 crore, the AP government plans to complete the projects partially supported by the Centre first, hoping that the maintenance cost will be reduced. Sources said that CM N Chandrababu Naidu had instructed officials concerned to take loans from banks willing to lend for minimal interest rates in order to get the work done by 2018.
As per Water Resources Department officials, the AP government has decided to complete the remaining projects at a record pace at which it had completed the Muchumarri project.Instead of waiting for funds from the Central government, the State government plans to take loans to get the work done faster and avoid costs from rising to a 100 per cent due to delay, according to the experts. Loans are likely to be procured by January 2018.