ADB commits $10 billion plan for India's urban transformation with infra, transit projects

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has committed $10 billion for India’s urban transformation, including metro extensions and regional rapid transit system (RRTS) corridors in the next five years, ADB President Masato Kanda said.

Kanda, who is on a visit to India, said the plan will channel financing through sovereign loans, private sector operations, and third-party investments.

The initiative is anchored by the Urban Challenge Fund (UCF), which is being supported by ADB to attract private capital into India’s growing urban infrastructure sector.

“Cities are engines of growth,” Kanda said after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “ADB will mobilise capital, accelerate delivery, and scale solutions that keep India’s urban economy moving and people thriving on the road to Viksit Bharat @ 2047.”

The plan includes $3 million in technical assistance for designing bankable projects and enhancing capacity at the state and urban local body levels. The initiative builds on ADB’s completed analytical work on growth hubs, creative city redevelopment, and water and sanitation projects across 100 cities in India.

As per estimates, India's towns and cities are projected to house more than 40% of the population by 2030.

ADB is a leading multilateral development bank supporting inclusive, resilient, and sustainable growth across Asia and the Pacific.

ADB has supported over 110 cities in 22 states through projects in water supply, sanitation, housing, and solid waste management. Its active urban development portfolio currently comprises 27 loans worth $5.15 billion.

Over the past decade, ADB has committed $4 billion to urban transport projects, including metro rail and RRTS, covering 300 kilometres in eight cities such as Delhi–Meerut, Mumbai, Nagpur, Chennai, and Bengaluru.

ADB will also invest in skill development through the National Industrial Training Institute Upgradation Program to support manufacturing, catalyse private sector growth, and create quality employment, especially for the youth.

Under its country partnership strategy for India (2023–2027), ADB plans to provide over $5 billion in annual financing, including around $1 billion in nonsovereign operations to attract private investments.

Since commencing operations in India in 1986, ADB has committed $59.5 billion in sovereign lending and $9.1 billion in nonsovereign investments. As of April 2025, the active sovereign portfolio stands at 81 loans amounting to $16.5 billion.

During his visit, Kanda also met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to discuss expanding metro systems through transit-oriented development (TOD), enhancing rural prosperity, scaling rooftop solar capacity, and operationalising the UCF. He held discussions with Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on leveraging private investment, replicating transport project successes, and expanding TOD initiatives.