ADB weighs economic corridor feasibility

East-Coast Economic corridor will connect Tuticorin in south to Kolkata in east via Chennai and Andhra cities

The Centre will engage Asian Development Bank (ADB) to for a feasibility study and to prepare a conceptual development plan (CDP) for the EastCoast Economic Corridor (ECEC) to link Kolkata in the east to Tuticorin in the south through Chennai in a phased manner.

In the first phase, VisakhapatnamChennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC) segment of ECEC is being taken up. The Andhra Pradesh government is implementing the project.

In September 2016, ADB approved $631 million (loans and grants) for VCIC. The Andhra government will provide counterpart funding of $215 million.

ECEC, which runs along the entire east coast from Kolkata to Kanyakumari, is a multi-modal, regional maritime corridor that can play a vital role in unifying the large domestic market, as well as integrating the economy with the global value chains of southeast and east Asia.

Aside from an ambitious infrastructure programme, ECEC involves developing of skills, and creating an attractive regulatory environment, bringing in new investments, and getting existing businesses to grow and innovate, and create much needed jobs. In the first phase, ECEC covers 11 districts in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. ADB helped prepare the Conceptual Development Plan and Regional Perspective Plan for VCIC, which served as the bases for the VCIC programme, which was approved by the ADB Board in September, 2016.

The programme comprises a multi-tranche financing facility (MFF), a grant, and a policy-based loan (PBL) for a total investment of $631 million. The MFF and grant will support priority infrastructure investments in the VCIC region and the PBL will support policy reforms and institutional development in Andhra Pradesh.

In the first phase, VisakhapatnamChennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC) segment of ECEC is being taken up