Rural Road Network Expansion: ADB grants $100m loan
Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD 100 million loan to expand coverage of an ongoing rural road network improvement project in Bangladesh. This network will connect the rural population to agricultural development zones.
The additional financing will scale up current road network development, under Rural Connectivity Improvement Project, from 1,700 km to 2,630 km of rural roads.
It will build on the USD 200 million financial package approved in 2018, aimed at upgrading rural roads in 34 districts to all-weather standards with climate resilience and safety features, says a press release.
The impact and outcome of the overall project are expected to be further enhanced with coverage of additional geographic areas and increase in beneficiaries. The expanded project will benefit 40.2 million inhabitants.
"The increased support brings more rural communities closer and faster to economic development activities, which accelerates the delivery of produce and services from agricultural lands to markets," said ADB Senior Water Resources Specialist Olivier Drieu.
"Women and children will have easier and safer access to education, employment, health, and other essential social services in any weather condition," he said.
Inadequate rural transport and poor market infrastructure remain a challenge to Bangladesh's rural development. The situation is further worsened by recurrent flooding and disasters that paralyse agricultural value chains. Less than half of the rural population has access to all-weather roads, which make up less than a third of the total length of rural roads in the country.
The Rural Connectivity Improvement Project supports the government's Seventh Five Year Plan, aiming to increase the percentage of the country's rural roads from 43 percent in 2016 to 80 percent in 2020.
The total cost of the project, expected to be completed by 2024, is USD 449.23 million, with the Bangladesh government contributing USD 149.23 million.
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