The World Bank Wednesday announced $528.5 million support, including $465 million credit, for a tsunami reconstruction project in India.

The Emergency Tsunami Reconstruction Project is expected to help repair or reconstruct about 140,000 damaged houses in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, the worst affected areas of the Dec 26 disaster that killed about 280,000 people worldwide and more than 10,000 in India.

The funds, of which $465 million is a soft loan from World Bank's development arm International Development Association (IDA), would be utilised to reconstruct public buildings, revive livelihoods in fisheries and agriculture, as well as for capacity building in housing reconstruction and coastal management.

While total project cost is estimated at $682.8 million, including contingencies, the Indian government would bear the remaining costs.

In a statement, the bank said existing IDA credits would be used to finance essential reconstruction activities in Andhra Pradesh ($40 million) and rural water supply needs in Kerala ($10 million).

The requirements of the roads sector in Tamil Nadu ($11 million) would be partially covered under an existing International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) loan.

"A trust fund of $2.5 million will support certain activities which are part of, and consistent with, the implementation of the tsunami reconstruction programme," the statement said.