Bhubaneswar, April 25: The Housing and Urban Development Corporation Ltd (HUDCO) celebrated annual day at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi on Saturday, bringing together representatives from central ministries, financial institutions, multilateral agencies, lenders, and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) to deliberate on urban infrastructure financing and development of bankable projects.
The programme featured engaging and forward-looking sessions on the transformative potential of the Urban Challenge Fund (UCF) and the need to significantly scale up Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in urban infrastructure. Discussions underscored the immense opportunity that PPPs present in mobilising private capital at scale, enhancing efficiency and innovation, enabling lifecycle asset management, and ensuring faster, high-quality project execution with improved service delivery.
HUDCO also showcased its flagship Urban Investment Window (UiWIN) as a key urban transformation initiative to support cities in structuring investment-ready projects. This was complemented by a strong emphasis on capacity building measures to empower ULBs—focusing on financial structuring, PPP design, procurement capabilities, and facilitating financial closure through active engagement with lenders and investors.
Panel discussions further highlighted the importance of formulating robust and bankable urban infrastructure projects, covering critical aspects such as ULB revenue and expenditure analysis, borrowing capacity assessment, asset register management, and viability gap funding strategies. Deliberations on financial closure brought focus to a range of financing instruments including municipal bonds, PPP frameworks, multilateral financing, and convergence with Government of India schemes, reinforcing the need for diversified and innovative financing approaches.
Representing the State, Team Urban Odisha - led by H&UD Minister Dr Krushna Chandra Mahapatra along with department ACS Usha Padhee - actively engaged in the deliberations and presented Odisha’s urban development roadmap, highlighting the State’s preparedness to leverage emerging financing frameworks and accelerate urban transformation.
The Urban Challenge Fund (UCF) provides a dynamic, market-linked and reform-driven framework for urban infrastructure development across Cities as Growth Hubs, Creative Redevelopment, and Water & Sanitation, with a strong emphasis on project bankability and financial discipline. The Fund is poised to catalyse large-scale investments and foster a new paradigm of PPP-led urban transformation.
Odisha is entering a decisive phase of urbanisation under the Viksit Odisha Vision 2036 and 2047, with cities emerging as key engines of economic growth, employment, and investment. The State’s approach is anchored in planned, infrastructure-led development, characterised by corridor-based growth, a strong role of Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, and a continued focus on climate resilience.
To realise this vision, Odisha is advancing a portfolio of high-impact urban projects, including the Nico Park Lakefront Development in Bhubaneswar, Mahanadi Riverfront Development in Cuttack, and storm water drainage systems in Sambalpur, along with transit-oriented development and new city expansion initiatives. These projects aim to deliver area-wide transformation, improved liveability, and economic momentum, while being structured as financially sustainable and bankable investments aligned with UCF principles.
The themes discussed during the event—unlocking the transformative potential of PPPs, de-risking projects for investors and bidders, and strengthening institutional capacity—strongly align with Odisha’s urban strategy, underscoring the State’s readiness to deliver next-generation urban infrastructure in line with the Viksit Odisha 2036 and 2047 vision.
