World Bank studies infrastructure gaps in Vizag

A three-member delegation from the World Bank on Thursday held a review meeting with officials of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) to assess the city’s urban infrastructure and identify critical gaps as part of the planning process for the proposed City Economic Region (CER).

The exercise is part of the broader Visakhapatnam Economic Region (VER) initiative, which seeks to guide the region’s long-term economic and urban development.

During the meeting at the GVMC headquarters, Commissioner Ketan Garg presented an overview of the city’s growth trajectory, infrastructure priorities and ongoing development initiatives. He also briefed the delegation, led by World Bank representative Abhijit Ray, on projects being implemented under the Urban Challenge Fund and other proposals under consideration.

According to officials, the World Bank team is assessing infrastructure requirements in key sectors, including water supply, sewerage and sanitation, road networks and urban connectivity. The assessment will also examine housing and slum redevelopment needs to identify measures required for inclusive urban growth.

“The team is undertaking a structured assessment of the city’s civic infrastructure and future requirements,” Garg said.

Officials said the discussions focused on evaluating existing infrastructure capacity against projected demand arising from planned industrial and economic expansion in the region.

The delegation is scheduled to undertake field visits across various parts of Visakhapatnam on Friday to assess infrastructure conditions on the ground and evaluate the feasibility of proposed projects.

The findings of the assessment are expected to contribute to the formulation of a development strategy for the proposed CER under the larger VER framework.