WB okays $107m for Indian project

The World Bank has approved funding of US$ 107 million for a road project in northeastern Indian state of Mizoram which will be connected with Bangladesh and Myanmar, said WB Country Director in India Onno Ruhl yesterday.
The link to Bangladesh will facilitate greater bilateral trade and access to Chittagong port, the nearest shipping port for India's North East.
Onno Ruhl was addressing a press conference in Guwahati, the capital of Assam state.
The WB board had last week approved a soft loan for the “Mizoram State Roads II–Regional Transport Connectivity Project”, he said.
The project will be financed by a credit from the International Development Association –WB's concessionary lending arm that provides interest-free loans with 25 years to maturity and a grace period of five years.
The project will fund 91km of roads.
Roads that will be widened or strengthened  include a 22km section of Lunglei-Tlabung-Kawrpuichhuah road on the border with Bangladesh. It will also include the 41.7km Chhumkhum-Chawngte North-South alignment connecting to the border roads with Bangladesh to the west and Myanmar to the south.
Similarly, the link to the border with Myanmar will facilitate connectivity to Myanmar and the rest of East Asia and beyond.