GOI, ADB sign $ 250 m agreement for 6,254 km roads in 5 states

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India on January 30, 2018, signed a $250 million loan agreement to finance the construction of 6,254 kilometres all-weather rural roads in the States of Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal under the Prime Minister’s Rural Roads Program (PMGSY).

The First Tranche Loan is part of the $500 million Second Rural Connectivity Investment Programme for India approved by the ADB Board in December 2017. The programme is aimed at improving rural connectivity, facilitating safer and more efficient access to livelihood and socio-economic opportunities for rural communities through improvements of about 12,000 kilometres Rural Roads across the 5 States, according to a PIB release.

Sameer Kumar, Khare, Joint Secretary (Multilateral Institutions), Department of Economic Affairs in the Government’s Ministry of Finance, signed the loan agreement on behalf of Government of India. Speaking on the occasion, Khare said that the ADB-funded investment programme will provide continued assistance to the PMGSY and support the Government’s long-term goal for rural development.