Announcement of Bank and IDA Project to Improve Water Supply, Sewer Facilities in Bombay on December 18, 1986

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 1WorldBank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.• Telephone: (202) 477-1234 BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 87/28 Contact: Pastor B. Sison IDA NEWS RELEASE NO. 87/30 (202) 4 77-3653 BANK/IDA PROJECT TO IMPROVE WATER SUPPLY, SEWER FACILITIES IN BOMBAY WASHINGTON, December 18 -- With a burgeoning population of nearly 10 million people, Bombay, India, has trouble keeping pace with the demand for good water supply and sewerage faciltiies. The World Bank is lending $40 million and the International Development Association (IDA), the Bank's concessionary lending affiliate, is providing a credit of $145 million to help the city meet this need. The project is expected to reduce Bombay's water shortage from the present 36 percent to 18 percent of demand. The project provides for extension of a water supply system that includes distribution mains, transmission tunnels, and leak detection system instrumentation and control equipment; construction of a water treatment plant to provide 455 million liters of water per day; and construction of about 54 km of sewers and waste t disposal facilities. It also provides for strengthening the operational efficiency of the Bombay Municipal Corporation's (BMC) Water Supply and Sewerage Department in such areas as revenue collection, financial planning and control, and water waste and leakage reduction. Expected to be completed in 1994, the project will have a total cost of $304.3 million. In addition to the Bank/IDA blend, the BMC will provide $119.3 million through internal cash generation. The Bank loan is for 20 years, including five years' grace, with a variable interest rate, currently 8.23 percent, linked to the cost of the Bank's borrowings. It also carries an annual commitment charge of 0.75 percent on the undisbursed balances. The IDA credit is for SO years, including 10 years of grace; it carries no interest but has annual charges (0.5 percent on the undisbursed balances and 0.75 percent on the disbursed balances). NOTE: Money figures are expressed in U.S. expressed in U.S. dollar equivalents. IDA credits are denominated in SDRs (Special Drawing Rights), which are valued on the basis of a "basket" of currencies. The U.S. dollar equivalent of the SDR amount of the IDA credit reflects the exchange rates existing at the time of the negotiation of the credit.