The Union government on Friday signed an agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to avail of a USD 100 million loan to improve urban services and tourism facilities in Tripura.

Official sources said that he signatories of the loan agreement for the Tripura Urban and Tourism Development Project were Juhi Mukherjee, Joint Secretary Department of Economic Affairs for the Government of India, and Nilaya Mitash, Officer-in-Charge of ADB's India Resident Mission, an official statement said.

After signing the loan agreement, Mukherjee said the project will improve the municipal infrastructure and public services in Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), along the main national highways in Tripura, besides upgrading key tourism sites.

The project will support the state as a gateway to the northeast region by developing tourist destinations along highways and by improving urban governance and financial sustainability through improved resource mobilization and credit worthiness, said Mitash.

He said ADB support will also strengthen the capacity of ULBs for integrated planning, including climate and disaster resilience, and identification of community and private sector participation for tourism and marketing.

The project will upgrade urban water supply systems by installing 42 km new transmission and distribution pipes, establishing four new water treatment plants, and improving 55 km of stormwater drains, it said.

It will improve 21 km of urban roads that will incorporate features that respond to the needs of the elderly, women, children, and differently-abled, the statement added.

*Agency report.