Asian Development Bank to fund Rs 2,500 crore for construction of three medical colleges in Maharashtra

Mumbai: In a significant development, Asian Development Bank (ADB) will fund Rs 2,500 crore for the construction of three medical colleges in Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Nandurbar as part of its greenfield projects. 

The state government will provide financial assistance of Rs 1,250 crore for the capacity building of the medical colleges that would have over 400-bed hospitals attached to each of them.

The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank helps in promoting social and economic development in Asia.

Also read- Maharashtra Govt To Take Rs 4,000 Crore Loan To Set Up New Medical Colleges In 12 Districts

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported back in 2022 that the Maharashtra government declared to take a loan of 4,000 crore rupees from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for setting up medical colleges in 12 districts of the state. 

There are around 12 districts in the state including, Jalgaon, Satara, Alibaug, Sindhudurg, Usmanabad, Parbhani, Amravati, Ratnagiri, Gadhchiroli, Bhandara, and Ambernath which don't have a medical college. 

Minister for Medical Education, Sports and Youth Affairs Girish Mahajan earlier said, Asian Development Bank has agreed to provide 4,000 crore rupees for setting up medical colleges in these districts.

However, the ADB will now invest Rs 2,500 on three medical colleges out of 12 and the rest will be funded by the government. 

Dinesh Waghmare, additional chief secretary, the medical education department told HT, “The ADB will fund three colleges while the state will bear the cost of construction of the remaining colleges. The cost of 1,200 crore for the capacity building in these colleges will be borne by the state government. Though the interest rate of the funding by the ADB will depend on the existing rate of the dollar, it is expected to be 6 to 7%.”

The state government has 25 medical colleges across several districts, while 9 more such medical colleges have been approved in nine districts. The construction of some of these medical colleges has begun with the state government funding the construction.

“We expect the construction of three colleges to begin at the earliest. The state government, while approving the colleges, had allowed the funding from ADB and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) with the approval from the finance department,” said an official from the department.

Apart from this, the state government is currently exploring the possibility of securing funding from private entities through a private-public partnership model to facilitate the enhancement of the existing medical colleges.

“Private funding is expected for the tertiary care facilities at the hospital and expressions of interest have been invited for it. Based on the response, we are planning the involvement of the private parties in setting up the colleges,” he said.