World Bank president Robert B. Zoelik and chief minister Nitish Kumar during the former’s visit to Patna. Telegraph picture

Patna, Oct. 16: A five-member World Bank team will be in Bihar tomorrow to hold parleys with different government departments.

Commencing on October 17, the five-day visit of the team assumes significance as it is a part of the groundwork being done before sanctioning of second trench of the World Bank loan to Bihar.

This would be the second visit of the World Bank team in this connection. The first team had visited the state in August this year and met different department officials to discuss the projects which these departments intended to launch with the help of the loan money.

Bihar is likely to get $780 million loan from the bank in the second trench. The World Bank has already provided a soft loan of $220 million to the state, which is being used to undertake reconstruction in the Kosi region that was devastated in deluge of 2008.

During his visit to the state in January this year, World Bank president Robert B. Zoellick had said that the organi-sation intended to provide $1 billion to the state and the $220 million loan was part of this amount. It was during Zoellick’s visit to Bihar that the state government and the World Bank had inked the $220 million loan agreement.

“Water resources, rural works, road construction, energy and labour resources departments would make presentations about the projects they intend to launch with the World Bank loan during the visit of the World Bank team,” a senior state government official said.

He said these departments had made presentations during the August visit of World Bank team. The latter had suggested some points on the basis of which the project documents had to be fine-tuned. This time, a more detailed presentation would be made.

The official, however, made it clear that the final decision on these proposals is likely to be taken by December as there are many other formalities to be completed before the loan sanction.

Discussions on second trench of the World Bank loan apart, the team would also pay a visit to the Kosi region where work has started after getting the first trench of loan.

The one point which appears to be a matter of concern is the house construction work going on in the Kosi region for those affected in the 2008 Kosi deluge.

The project had received a jolt when Owner Driven Reconstruction Collaborative, a group of non-government organisations that had been working in the area since 2008 and also providing technical support to the housing project, stopped work from September this year alleging dillydally approach of Bihar Apda Prabandhan Evam Punarnirman Society in inking an agreement with it to execute the housing project.