The World Bank is set to loan $20 million (around Rs 135.5 crore) to Vishakhapatnam’s Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, which was devastated by cyclone Hudhud in October 2014. The amount is part of the $370 million (Rs 2,508 crore) Andhra Pradesh Disaster Recovery Project, for which the bank is providing assistance worth $250 million (Rs 1,694 crore) from 2015 to 2020, PTI reported.

The eco-development project will focus on making the civil structures disaster-resilient, re-establishing lost nurseries and setting up green shelter beds to act as windbreaks. The World Bank will be partnering with the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department and the Central Zoo Authority for it. According to Neha Vyas, a senior environment specialist at the World Bank’s India office, this is the first time the bank has been directly involved in a project related to a zoo.

The World Bank found that nearly 40% of the trees in the zoo complex were flattened, while a larger number were damaged. The cyclone killed 11 animals, and some 180 birds and animals escaped from their damaged enclosures. Established in 1972, the zoo has an annual footfall of eight lakh people, and houses 170 species of animals. It gained popularity after “Bird Man of India” Salim Ali designed aviaries for it.