World Bank to give $114 million for underground cabling.

The Andhra Pradesh government's plans to replace all overhead power supply cables with an underground cable network in the Port City has got a major booster with the World Bank agreeing to sanction $114 million for the project. The underground power cabling was mooted by chief minister Chandrababu Naidu in the aftermath of Cyclone Hudhud as part of his plans to make Vizag a smart, cyclone-resistant city.

Confirming this, AP energy secretary Ajay Jain said: 'The World Bank has agreed to sanction $114 million to the state exclusively for the underground power cabling of Visakhapatnam city. The state government has already approved the project and the Centre will give its approval after the detailed project report (DPR) is submitted. Work on the project will begin in the next three to four months.'

'We will take up the project in a phased manner. Though the project requires over Rs. 1,000 crore, we will utilise the World Bank funding, which translates into nearly Rs. 700 crore, for covering the main areas in the city with the underground network,' Ajay Jain said.

Jain claimed that the state government had mooted the project before the cyclone struck the city on October 12 last year, but made it public only after the city's power network was badly damaged by the cyclone that resulted in losses of over Rs. 1200 crore to power utilities.

The task of preparing the DPR for the project has been entrusted to PFC Consulting Limited, a subsidiary of state-run Power Finance Corporation Limited (PFC), said a senior Eastern Power Distribution Company of AP Limited (APEPDCL) official.

TIMES OF INDIA