G20 regional workshop focuses on private urban financing

Visakhapatnam: The concluding day of the two-day regional workshop on 'How Cities Can Leverage the Private Finance' focused on credit assessment framework for cities and ways cities can avail funding and advisory support, including global precedents. Organised as a part of 'Jan Bhagidari', curtain raiser events of the second G20-IWG meeting by the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and International Finance Corporation (IFC), the workshop was centred on three critical sessions. Speaking on the occasion, Joint Secretary of Department of Economic Affairs Solomon Arokiaraj said such workshops were essential ahead of the G20 Infrastructure Working Group Summit.

Briefing about how cities can utilise private finance on Thursday, he said the workshop consisted of three critical sessions on credit assessment framework for cities, presentations on their capital expenditure programmes from both states/cities, initiatives and challenges in mobilising commercial financing and ways forward for cities. Earlier in the programme, credit assessment framework for cities – panel discussions by project finance and structuring strategic business unit chief general manager of SBI Ashok Sharma, CRISIL ratings president and chief ratings officer Subodh Roy, SBI senior vice president Ramamurthy Ayer.

They gave details through a power-point presentation on assessment framework for cities. GVMC Commissioner P Raja Babu briefed about the cities perspective on waste, water recycling and reuse projects, initiatives and presentations on challenges in mobilising commercial financing and the way forward for cities. A green initiative and milestone sewerage and recycled water project in Visakhapatnam was presented through a digital presentation. Later, Solomon Arokiaraj, International Finance Corporation of Stream Manager V Delmon and Jason held discussions on how cities can get funding and support.