Road projects in Kerala received $216 million funding from the World Bank, which points out that of the 4,340 km highways in the state, around 70 percent are still single-lane with 54 percent in poor condition.
Kerala government would use the fund for its Stage Transport Project II (KSTP II). The fund would enable upgradation of 363 km of strategically important state highways.
The multilateral lending agency also agreed to lend $100 million for the national Low Income Housing Finance Project through the National Housing Bank.
The project will allow low-income households to switch from expensive informal finance to longer-term, formal sources for their housing needs. This we expect will contribute to an average increase in incomes of people at the bottom of the pyramid, Onno Ruhl, World Bank country Director for India said.
The bank estimates that India’s urban population will hit 600 million by 2031 – more than double that in 2001. Housing shortages in India are also acute: the 2012 urban housing backlog was estimated at 19 million, indicating that one fourth of the urban dwellers are living in inadequate housing or are homeless.
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