Guwahati, Oct. 31: A team of experts from Agence Française de Developpement (AFD) — the French development agency which is appraising the Assam forestry project — will be arriving in the state next month to take a final decision on funding the scheme.

The Assam forest department had submitted the Rs 450-crore project to the AFD through the Centre for its consideration. The detailed project report will also be prepared during the team’s visit.

“The team will arrive next month and sit with the department officials to prepare a detailed project report,” a forest official supervising the project said today. The team will hold wide-ranging consultations for preparation of the detailed project report.

The official said once the detailed project report was prepared and vetted, it would then be put before the AFD authorities for funding.

Claude Garcia is leading the team of experts to help the French development agency assess the forestry project.

“They were positive in their discussions with us in the last meeting as they also had interactions with NGOs to get an overview of the conservation scenario,” the official said. If the project comes through next year, it will be the biggest ever external assistance to the state forest department. AFD has been authorised by the French government to operate in India with a mandate focusing on global challenges.

The six-year project covers protected areas, infrastructure development, capacity development and income security. The Assam government will for the first time be liaising with a French financial institution as it generally deals with the World Bank and Asian Development Bank for external financing.