The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved $190 million in additional funding for ongoing Rural Connectivity Improvement Project in Bangladesh.
Masahiro Nishimura, Principal Rural Development Specialist of Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture division in the South Asia department of the ADB, announced the approval in a statement Tuesday.
“This is ADB’s second additional financing for the project.
“It is to further expand improvement of rural road networks and introducing innovative features in climate and disaster resilience,” Nishimura said.
He added that the additional financing will also extend to road asset management to enhance living conditions in rural areas in Bangladesh.
“This project is helping improve transport efficiency and reliability in rural areas, boost agricultural productivity, and generate employment to help the country’s sustainable economic growth.”
According to the statement, the project, originally approved in November 2018, aims to upgrade about 1,700 kilometres of rural roads.
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It would also strengthen the capacity of rural infrastructure agencies and road users, and improve rural road master planning.
More than 900 kilometres of rural roads have been added to the original target since 2020.
This latest loan will further extend the improvement of another 1,350 kilometres of rural roads.
The roads will have all-weather standards, climate resilience, and safety features, according to the statement.
It will provide equipment and trucks to 180 mobile road maintenance offices at the upazila (subdistrict) level. (Xinhua)
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