New Delhi–India on Thursday signed a loan agreement worth $40 million with the World Bank for “UP Pro-Poor Tourism Development Project” aimed at increasing tourism-related benefits for local communities in Uttar Pradesh.
The total project cost is around $57.14 million, out of which $40 million will be financed by the World Bank, and the remaining amount will be funded out of the state budget, a union Finance Ministry statement said.
The programme duration is five years. “The project objective is to increase tourism-related benefits for local communities in targeted destinations.”
“The project is expected to have far-reaching social, economic and environmental benefits by targeting local communities and entrepreneurs near some of the main tourist and pilgrimage attractions in Uttar Pradesh, namely, Agra as well as Mathura, Vrindavan, Barsana and Govardhan in the Braj region,” the statement said.
