CHENNAI: After deferring the signing of the World Bank-funded Chennai City Partnership initially, TN Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan has given green light to the scheme which will be implemented over a period of nine years (2021-2030) with a total estimated budget of USD 1.43 billion for development of institutions, infrastructure and systems.
Initially, the DMK government has sought more time before signing the agreement with the World Bank as the state wanted full ownership of what they are going to sign. The government was scheduled to sign the agreement on June 10 and wanted everything to be finalised by June 30. This comes after a meeting was held recently between World Bank officials and the state Finance Minister PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan and the project was deferred to next quarter.
Presenting the budget, the finance minister said the issue has been resolved after a recent meeting.
The World Bank had held discussions with the government over the last year to develop the Chennai City Partnership model to ensure the city's sustainable growth. Initially, the programme was to be managed by Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Development Board (TNIDB) at the State-level. It will provide financial and technical support to all key service delivery institutions in Chennai’s urban local bodies.
The first phase is proposed as a multi-sector Program-for-Results (PforR) operation, wherein the focus will be on urban mobility, with a focus on strengthening bus service delivery, municipal pedestrian infrastructure and women’s safety in public spaces." This also includes Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority," the Finance Minister said.
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