ADB approves 620 milliion dollars in loans to India

MANILA (AFP) - India is to get two Asian Development Bank loans totalling 620 million dollars to improve rural roads and basic urban services in two states, the Philippines-based lender said Friday.

The first loan, for 320 million dollars, will help rebuild 1,800 kilometers (1,120 miles) of road in Madhya Pradesh, one of India's poorest regions, an ADB statement said.

The bank also approved up to four loans totalling 300 million dollars, to be disbursed over the next eight years, to improve basic urban services in Jammu and Kashmir.

"The program will expand water supply, sanitation, waste management, urban transport and other municipal functions in Jammu, Srinagar and other vital towns and commercial centers of the state of Jammu and Kashmir," said ADB specialist Alex Jorgensen.

The number of individual loans from this facility could rise to five or six, "depending on the speed of reforms and the capacity of the state to implement the works," the statement said.

Both the Madhya Pradesh and Jammmu and Kashmir loans carry market rates, with the former payable over 25 years including a five-year grace period. The latter facility's payment terms were not made public.