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ADB Opens Extra Office to Speed Up Rehabilitation Work in Gujarat

GANDHINAGAR, INDIA (9 July 2001) - The Asian Development Bank officially opened an Extended Mission in Gandhinagar, India, today to speed up implementation of a US$500 million emergency loan to rebuild earthquake-damaged Gujarat. This is an extension of ADB's Resident Mission in Delhi.

The Chief Minister of Gujarat, Mr. Keshubhai Patel, attended the opening, along with other senior government officials, representatives of non-governmental organizations and officials from Kacchh, the area most devastated by the recent earthquake.

Implementation of the ADB loan, approved earlier in the year, is well under way. Some 700,000 home owners have received financial aid from the Government to rebuild damaged houses. Contracts for goods and services under the loan are being approved and finalized.

The new ADB office will provide better coordination in implementing the project. "The Extended Office will strengthen our client orientation as the project focuses on early restoration of economic and social activity in the affected areas," says Frank Polman, ADB's Resident Representative in India.

On 26 January, an earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale caused massive destruction across the industrialized state of Gujarat. Thousands were killed and thousands more left homeless. The total cost of the Gujarat Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Project is estimated at US$625 million, of which ADB is financing 80 per cent.

Read more about the Gujarat Earthquake Recovery Program and related news release.