ZCZC
BCN-24
ADB-LOAN-INDIA-PPP
ADB’s 490 mln USD loan to upgrade Indian state’s roads
NEW DELHI, Dec. 21, 2019 (BSS/Xinhua) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB)
and the government of India on Friday signed a loan of 490 million U.S.
dollars for a public-private partnership (PPP) project to upgrade about 1,600
km of roads in the central state of Madhya Pradesh.
An additional 286 million U.S. dollars investment will be mobilized
through private sector participation under the PPP modality, said an official
statement issued by the country’s Ministry of Finance.
The loan agreement was signed between senior official at the Ministry of
Finance Sameer Kumar Khare and ADB’s Country Director Kenichi Yokoyama in New
Delhi.
Speaking on the occasion, Khare said that the upgradation of roads in the
state would improve rural and urban connectivity, and also improve access to
markets and better services.
The project will upgrade a total 750 km of state highways and 850 km of
district roads to two-lane and all-weather standards with road safety
features, added the official statement.
It will also develop an e-maintenance system, which can record defects or
required maintenance, along with a training program to develop capacity on
contract implementation and project finance in the Madhya Pradesh Road
Development Corporation.
Since 2002, the ADB has provided the Madhya Pradesh state government with
five loans to develop its road network, improving about 7,300 km of roads,
said the statement.
BSS/ XINHUA/HR/1502