GOI, ADB sign $200 million loan for upgrading 230km State Highways in Bihar

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India (GOI) on November 26, 2018, signed in New Delhi a $200 million loan agreement to finance widening and upgrading of about 230 km State Highways in Bihar to all-weather standards with road safety features.

The signatories to the loan agreement for the Bihar State Highways III Project (BSHP-III) were Sameer Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary (Fund Bank and ADB), Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance, who signed on behalf of the Government of India, and Rajeev P Singh, Officer Incharge of ADB’s India Resident Mission, who signed for ADB. The project agreement was signed by Vipin Kumar, Resident Commissioner, Government of Bihar, and Chandra Shekhar, Chief General Manager, Bihar State Roads Development Corporation Limited.

Khare said that this loan will complement the efforts of the Government of Bihar to upgrade all State Highways to meet the minimum two-lane standard with better surface and improved road safety leading to improved connectivity.

Rajeev P Singh said that the new loan will continue ADB’s support in the development of the road sector in Bihar. The improved roads under the project will contribute to savings in vehicle operating cost and travel time, reduce vehicle emissions, and improve road safety. The project will also establish a state level Road Research Institute to improve technical and management capacity of the road agency Staff.

Since 2008, ADB has provided four loans to Bihar, amounting to $1.43 billion, to upgrade about 1,453 km of State Highways and to construct a new bridge over river Ganga near Patna, according to a PIB release.

This BSHP-III project, approved by the ADB Board in October this year, will involve upgrading State Highways to standard two-lane width with road safety features and paved shoulders including reconstructing, widening, and strengthening culverts and bridges.