News Brief
India To Get $10 Billion Urban Infrastructure Push From ADB With Focus On Metro, RRTS And City Services
ADB President Masato Kanda with Prime Minister Narendra Modi
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has announced a major five-year initiative to transform India’s urban infrastructure, aiming to mobilise up to $10 billion—including third-party capital—towards metro extensions, regional rapid transit corridors, and improved city services.
Announcing the plan during a visit to India, ADB President Masato Kanda emphasised the importance of cities in India’s development trajectory.
“Cities are engines of growth,” said Kanda after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“ADB will mobilize capital, accelerate delivery, and scale solutions that keep India’s urban economy moving and people thriving on the road to Viksit Bharat @ 2047," he added.
The initiative, anchored by India’s Urban Challenge Fund (UCF), will blend sovereign lending, private sector financing, and external capital.
ADB is backing the UCF to attract private investment into urban infrastructure, supported by analytical groundwork done in 100 cities on creative city redevelopment, growth hubs, and upgrades in water and sanitation.
ADB is also committing $3 million in technical assistance to help state governments and urban local bodies design bankable projects and build institutional capacity.
With India’s urban population expected to exceed 40 per cent by 2030, ADB’s new push builds on an already deep urban footprint: the bank has partnered with over 110 Indian cities in 22 states for projects in water, sanitation, housing, and solid waste management.
ADB has also committed $4 billion over the past decade to support urban transport, comprising metro projects and RRTS covering 300 kilometers in eight cities, including the Delhi–Meerut RRTS, Mumbai Metro, Nagpur Metro, Chennai Metro, and Bengaluru Metro.
These projects aim to reduce congestion, lower emissions, and expand access—especially for vulnerable populations, including people with disabilities.
ADB will also support skill development through the National Industrial Training Institute Upgradation Programme to boost manufacturing competitiveness and create quality jobs, particularly for India’s youth.
During his visit, Kanda held meetings with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal to discuss scaling metro networks via transit-oriented development (TOD), expanding rooftop solar, and operationalising the UCF.
Under its country partnership strategy for 2023–2027, ADB has committed to providing over $5 billion annually to India, including $1 billion in non-sovereign financing to catalyse private sector investments.
ADB has been active in India since 1986. As of April 2025, its commitments in India stand at $59.5 billion in sovereign lending and $9.1 billion in non-sovereign investments, with an active sovereign portfolio of 81 loans worth $16.5 billion.
