Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Thursday the government will organise a Development Partners Conclave in Thiruvananthapuram here on July 15 as part of Rebuild Kerala Initiative (RKI).
As part of the preparation for the conclave, senior officers of the government held wide ranging discussions with the delegation headed by World Bank country head and experts of various agencies on July 3.
Based on the discussions, it was agreed to ensure the participation of maximum international and national agencies in the conclave. The needs of Kerala would be placed before the conclave and the financial and technical assistance of the participating agencies would be sought. Representatives of World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), KFW Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Department of Interna-tional Develo-pment (DiFD), French Develop-ment Agency AFD, United Nations Development Progra-mme, German DevelopmentAid-GIZ, Housing and Urban Development Corpora-tion (HUDCO), Rural Infrastructure Develop-ment Fund (RIDF), AIIB and New Development Bank will attend the conclave.
It will mark the beginning of discussions on the possibilities of getting financial assistance and technical expertise in different sectors.
The KfW, the German state-owned development bank, has promised to assist the state in rebuilding roads that got destroyed the devastating floods last year while the World Bank has already offered $250 million (Rs 1,725 crore) Development Policy Loan (DPL) for rebuilding infrastructure. The funds would be used mainly for protecting the property and livelihood means of people from natural calamities. The projects in transport, urban planning and employment sectors would receive priority for implementation.
The total loss during the August floods, the worst in a century, was estimated to be over Rs 31,000 crore. The state would get the second tranche after the loan granted as part of first tranche is utilised.
