The Asian Development Bank will maintain its lending rate to India of about $2 billion per annum for the next three years, which will be invested in power, transportation, water and sanitation, the multilateral bank?s president Takehiko Nakao said on Sunday.
Nakao added that the bank had identified some projects where the money may be invested in, but declined to specify in detail.
?At this point, it is not a good idea to say what projects we are thinking because it is subject to discussions in the board of directors, but of course we are looking at specific projects. Our investment to India is very broad-based. I don?t want to give specifics but of course there are many concrete projects in mind,? Nakao said at a press conference on the sidelines of the ADB summit here.
Since ADB started lending to India in 1986, it has lent about $29.3 billion to the country till 2012.
Out of the cumulative lending amount, about $10 billion has been invested in power projects, and over $9 billion in transportation projects and communication technology, a spokesperson for the bank said.
Some of the proposed projects the ADB is supposed to invest in include a clean energy project in Himachal Pradesh, an urban water management and sanitation project in Karnataka and an education project in Meghalaya.
Nakao said that the bank will maintain its overall lending levels at about $10 billion a year.
He, however, accepted that the bank was facing a challenge in terms of resources to finance its lending due to the global slowdown.
?This issue requires urgent and careful attention. We will look at all options for ensuring that our lending level remains adequate. Our idea is that ADB will maintain its lending level of about $10 billion a year. Of course if we don?t do anything because of lower income from our investments, we would face challenges of a declining lending level.?
Nakao also said that the thrust of ADB?s investments will be on infrastructure projects in developing countries, adding that it was also considering co-financing of projects with other bilateral and multi-lateral agencies.