Assam Chief Secretary Ravi Kota on Monday met a delegation from the World Bank in Guwahati to review the progress of ongoing World Bank-assisted projects in Assam and deliberated upon future areas of collaboration aligned with the State Government’s developmental priorities. The World Bank delegation, led by Johannes Zutt, regional vice president, also included senior officials of the World Bank, Jen Jung Eun Oh and Arnab Bandopadhyay. Currently, Assam is implementing seven major World Bank-assisted externally aided projects with a cumulative outlay of approximately Rs 16,648 crore, of which the World Bank assistance component accounts for nearly Rs 13,320 crore. The projects span critical sectors including transport connectivity, river basin management, healthcare, school education, governance reforms and resilient infrastructure development. Among the major initiatives reviewed during the meeting were the Assam Inland Water Transport Project with a total project cost of Rs 770 crore, which has achieved over 89 percent physical progress.
Other key projects reviewed were the Assam Integrated River Basin Management Project Phase-I with an outlay exceeding Rs 1,105 crore; Assam State Secondary Healthcare Initiative for Service Delivery Transformation (ASSIST) Project with a project size of approximately Rs. 2,567 crores; Assam Resilient Rural Bridges Programme involving an investment of over Rs. 4,706 crores; Assam Disaster Resilient Hill Area Road Development Project with an approved outlay of Rs 3,875 crore; Assam Governance and Service Delivery Programme with an outlay of Rs 875 crore and the School Education and Adolescent Wellbeing Project with an investment of Rs. 2,750 crores.
During the interaction, highlighted Assam’s focus on resilient infrastructure, digital governance reforms and citizen-centric service delivery, and emphasized the transformative impact of governance and technology-driven initiatives. The Chief Secretary requested the World Bank to consider greater flexibility in minimum project size norms for governance, institutional reform and digital transformation projects.
Kota also sought enhanced engagement of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for supporting Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiatives and infrastructure asset monetization through technical and transaction advisory support for development of bankable PPP models across key sectors. Other aspects discussed include the sustainable maintenance and lifecycle management of infrastructure assets created under externally aided projects. The Chief Secretary requested support for creation of an Asset Management Fund, strengthening of institutional mechanisms and development of a digital Asset Management Information System for monitoring and maintenance of public infrastructure. The World Bank delegation appreciated the progress of ongoing projects in Assam and reaffirmed its continued support towards the State’s developmental priorities. Zutt reassured flexibility in designing future operations aligned with timelines and outcomes and emphasized the need to identify sectors where PPP models can be effectively financed. Senior officers of the Government of Assam and representatives of concerned departments attended the meeting.