All weather road for rural connectivity
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Government of India signed a US$455 million loan in New Delhi to finance the Andhra Pradesh Rural Roads Project.
The objective of the Project is to improve road transport connectivity in previously unserved communities by providing all weather rural roads in all 13 Districts of the State of Andhra Pradesh.
The Project plans to construct rural roads to provide first connectivity, construct cross drainage works and bridges to complete missing links and structures, provide approaches to educational institutions and health care centres, construct rural roads passing through tribal areas, and upgrade earthen/gravel roads to asphalt-based roads.
Andhra Pradesh Rural Roads is the Third Project being signed by the AIIB in the State of Andhra Pradesh, the other two being in Power Sector and Water Sector.
“AIIB is very keen to support more such Projects in India in various sectors”, said Supee, Director General, Investment Operations Department, AIIB, in a release on 28 Feb 2019.
The successful completion of the Project will result in increased agricultural productivity and industrial development (agro-industries, in particular) through improved connections to markets with more favourable prices for agricultural inputs and outputs.
Also, it will reduce travel time and hence giving better access to schools and hospitals for the rural population, resulting in improved healthcare and increase in literacy levels.
Better access roads to habitations also will result in setting up of more schools and healthcare centres around the habitations (which are considered unviable by service providers without such roads), resulting in further improvement of healthcare, literacy levels and overall quality of life.
India is the second largest shareholder and the largest borrower from the Beijing-Headquartered AIIB which began operations in January 2016. fiinews.com
