Press Release

Guwahati, December 21, 2022: Hon'ble Chief Minister of Assam Mr. Himanta Biswa Sarma inaugurated the partial commissioning of the Guwahati Water Supply Project in the presence of Hon'ble Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs of the Government of Assam Mr. Ashok Singhal,; dignitaries from the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India; Mr. KAWAZU Kunihiko, Minister & Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Japan in India; and Mr. SAITO Mitsunori, Chief Representative, JICA India Office and officials of Assam Government. It is one of the many projects supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which aims to provide safe, clean drinking water to the people of India's Northeastern regions (Assam).

The Guwahati Water Supply Project has been implemented by Guwahati Metropolitan Drinking Water and Sewerage Board (also known as Guwahati Jal Board, or GJB), with financial assistance from Government of Japan extending support of JPY 29,453 million (approximately INR 1,736 crore) through JICA to provide safe and reliable drinking water supply to approximately 142,000 households in Guwahati. The project has expand the existing water supply facilities and constructed new ones in the South-Central and North wards of Guwahati, thereby contributing to improving the living conditions of local residents.

The facilities involved in the project - including the intake well and Water Treatment Plant (60 out of 191 MLD), Ramsa Hills Reservoir, Amiya Nagar Reservoir and Distribution network of 106 km in 14 out of 126 Districted Meter Areas (DMAs) in Amiya Nagar and Geetanagar distributions zones - have been completed and put into operation. These facilities are expected to provide water connection to 14 DMAs with 10,000 households, of which 1500 households have already been served.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. KAWAZU Kunihiko, Minister & Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Japan in India said, "I am proud that Japan is contributing to such an important project. The Northeast is where India's ‘Act East Policy' and Japan's vision of a ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific' converge. Japan has been supporting development in India's Northeastern regions through the Act East Forum, and the Guwahati Water Supply Project is yet another important step in this direction."

Speaking on this occasion, Mr. SAITO Mitsunori, Chief Representative JICA India Office said, "JICA is committed to the infrastructure development, poverty alleviation, and environment conservation in India's Northeast. The Guwahati Water Supply Project is one of our flagship projects in this NE region. The project implementation started in 2009 but it faced several challenges which have since been successfully overcome by the Government of Assam. We are pleased with the progress and the outcomes of the project so far, and we expect that it will be fully completed by March 2024."

Since 2008, Japan, through its funding agency JICA, has extended 314 billion Japanese Yen (approximately INR 1850 crore*) as concessional Official Development Assistance (ODA) loans for the development of India's Northeastern regions.

*Calculated at the prevailing exchange ratio at the time of this announcement: 1 INR = 1.69649 JPY

Official Link of Embassy of Japan:

• Website (external link)
• Facebook page (external link)

About JICA

Established by a specific law, as an incorporated administrative institution under the Government of Japan, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) aims to contribute to the promotion of international cooperation, as the sole Japanese governmental agency in charge of ODA implementation. JICA is the world's largest bilateral donor agency and works as a bridge between Japan and emerging countries, providing assistance in the form of loans, grants, and technical cooperation, to enable the emerging countries to strengthen their capabilities.

• JICA India Office Web
• JICA India Brochure (PDF)
• JICA Facebook Page (external link)

For further information, please contact:

JICA India Office
Shusaku Takada / Aishwarya Mishra
(+91)-11-49097000
Takada.Shusaku@jica.go.jp
Mishra-Aishwarya@jica.go.jp

Edelman India
Rakhi Aurora
(+91)-9599067185
Rakhi.Aurora@edelman.com