The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday approved a US$312.5
million loan to develop the road network in the western part of Hunan
Province, central China.
The project supports the Chinese government's strategy to develop
the country's western region by supplying a vital section of the
Changsha-Chongqing corridor, one of eight prioritized western
corridors in the 10th Five Year Plan, the ADB said in a prepared
statement.
The funds will be used to construct a 173-kilometer, four-lane toll
expressway from Changde to Huaihua, and upgrade 517 kilometers of
local roads serving 404 impoverished villages. They will also
provide consulting services and training to enhance construction
quality, road safety, and project monitoring and evaluation.
The development of the road network in western Hunan will help
transmit the benefits of the eastern region's economic growth to
the underdeveloped western region. Some 1.9 million people, or 68
percent of the total population in the project area, will directly
benefit from the project. Around 42 percent of them are members of
ethnic minorities.
The project area is largely rural and mountainous, and existing
road infrastructure is inadequate to support economic growth, a
prerequisite to tackling poverty in the area.
Transport providers such as bus and truck operators will benefit,
as will passengers and traders who will all enjoy speedier, more
comfortable travel and improved road safety.
The roads should also lower the cost of transporting goods in and
out of the region, and spur tourism.
The total cost of the project is estimated at US$778.1 million. It
is scheduled to be complete in December 2009.
(Xinhua News Agency September 10, 2004)
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