The New Development Bank (NDB), a multilateral development bank established by BRICS nations, is set to fund rural road projects in Gujarat and has earmarked Rs 4,000 crore for it, said Vladimir Kazbekov, vice-president and chief operating officer of NDB.
Speaking on the sidelines of VGGS 2024, Kazbekov said that NDB will sign an MoU with the state government on these lines.”The NDB board of directors has approved a loan of $500 million for enhancement of approximately 13,500km of rural roads in Gujarat under the Mukhya Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.
The roads will be built with innovative and climate resilient designs, such as nature-based solutions and bio-engineering measures, to improve their ability to withstand extreme climatic events,” Kazbekov said.
NDB has approved some 106 projects globally with $34 billion sanctioned so far, of which $18.5 billion has been disbursed. Of these funds, NDB has approved 25 worth an aggregate of $8.7 billion in India, of which $4.23 billion has been disbursed.
NDB has been operating its regional office from Gujarat International Financial Tec-City (GIFT City) in Gandhinagar. Kazbekov also spoke about how NDB is considering bringing in climate finance through GIFT City.
Interestingly, NDB is also preparing to launch its maiden bond offering (Maharaja Bonds), under which it will look at raising up to Rs 2,000 crore in local currency resources.
“This will be a medium-term programme through which NDB aims to raise resources in local currency up to Rs 25,000 crore ($3 billion) over the next five years. We will use these resources primarily to finance private sector projects. Regulatory approvals for the maiden NDB bond offering is awaited and will likely be completed soon” said Kazbekov.
