Announcement of Help for the Construction of a New Bridge Across the River Hooghly of Calcutta on June 21, 1962

• INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT 1818 H STREET, N.W., WASHINGTON 25 1 0. C. TELEPHONE: EXECUTIVE 3-6360 For the Indian press: June 21., 1962 'l'he World Bank has agreed to help pay the costs of a technical stv.dy looking toward the construction of a new bridge across the River Hooghly to serve road traffic in the metropolitan area of Calcutta. The Bank's assistance had been requested by the Governments of India and of West Bengal, and will cJ.$sure that no part of the foreign exchange costs of the study w.ill harra to come from Indian resources. The Government of West Bengal idll bear all costs over and above those financed by the Bank. A new crossing is urgently needed to relieve congestion on the famous Howrah bridge, at present the chief link for mot.or vehicles between Ca1r;utta and the highly industrialized area to the west. Messrs. • Rendel, Palmer and Tritten, engineering consultants to the Commissioners for the Port of Calcutta, are being retained by the Government of West Bengal to study the problems of constructing a new crossing and are ex- pected to complete their work in less than a year. The consultants will present findings concerning posstble sites and will suggest designs of proposed alternative structures. The study is an essential part of the planning for the redevelop- ment of Calcutta., at present being undertaken by the Calcutta Metropoli- tan Organization (an agency of the West Bengal Government) with the help of the Ford Foundation. Plans for the redevelopment of Calcutta cover practically every aspect of ci vie administ,ra~ :.L<m. The Ford Foundation has made grants totaling ~rpl.4 million for the redevelopment project. The Bank considers the redevelopment of Calcutta to be a matter of high economic priority. The Bank has made two loans, totaling ~?50 million, for improving the Port of Calcutta and maintaining access to it. It also has financed projects for development of industry, power, and rail transport in the region. Credits from the Bank's affiliate, the International Develoi;m,.ent Association have also been given for highway development there • •