THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state will get the second phase aid for the Rebuild Kerala initiative with the World Bank and Germany-based KfW Development Bank approving the loan requests after months-long deliberations. The World Bank will grant the loan for a period of next five years after reviewing the projects taken up under the initiative in phase I.
In addition to executing various development projects, the fund can also be utilised for Covid-related activities by the state health department. The state will enter into an agreement with KfW Development Bank on December 18. The government is expected to sign another agreement with the World Bank in April 2021. Water distribution, sanitation, environment-friendly urban development, disaster insurance and financing are some of the priority areas where the fund utilisation would happen as part of phase II of Rebuild Kerala, which aims at building a resilient and green Kerala.
Rebuild Kerala CEO R K Singh said that deliberations are ongoing with Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and other similar agencies for mobilising more funds for the initiative. In the first phase, the World Bank had given `1,779.58 crore while the German bank granted 170 million euros. As on November 25, Rebuild Kerala has granted administrative sanction to projects worth `7,198.78 crore. As many as 12 departments are involved in the execution of these projects.
Projects worth `3,755.75 crore have been tendered and Rebuild Kerala has entered into agreements with various agencies for projects worth `2,831.41 crore. As much as `509.90 crore has been distributed among respective departments. The state government has envisaged to execute `36,500 crore worth of projects between 2019 and 2027 under the initiative.