Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Monday sought the World Bank’s support for infrastructure projects proposed in Tamil Nadu at her meeting with the bank’s president, Jim Yong Kim.
“The World Bank’s Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) in India proposes to focus on integration, transformation and inclusion. In all these areas, Tamil Nadu remains a priority State for continued funding. Hence, continued and enhanced support to Tamil Nadu fits in quite well with the bank’s own CPS in India,” said an official release detailing the interaction.
Ms. Jayalalithaa said the State held one of the largest and most successful portfolios of projects implemented with the bank’s assistance. Interventions taken up with the bank’s assistance made a “significant contribution” to the State’s economic development. She said the preliminary work under Phase-II of the Tamil Nadu Road Sector Project was over, and it would be appraised shortly. While there was a plan to bring in public-private partnership and leverage capital in a bigger way for this project, she expressed concern that the bank’s funding might be restricted to $300 million. It should be increased to $500 million, as the State’s contribution would be more.
