SME Times News Bureau | 27 Mar, 2015
The government on Thursday signed a $300 million loan agreement with the
Asian Development Bank (ADB) for improving road connectivity and
increasing domestic and regional trade in north Bengal and the north
eastern region (NER) of the country.
According to Tarun Bajaj,
joint secretary (multilateral institutions) in the department of
economic affairs of the Finance Ministry, the project will improve road
connectivity and efficiency of the international trade corridors by
expanding roads in north Bengal and the north-eastern region of the
country.
"The investment on the 'last mile' connectivity will
contribute to achieve the objective of regionally balanced and inclusive
growth of remote and economically lagging regions," he added.
The
ministry of finance said the loan is the first tranche of the $500
million multi-tranche south Asian sub-regional economic cooperation
(SASEC) road connectivity investment programme.
Under the project, about 500 km of roads will be constructed.
The
ministry further said that the first tranche of the project will
construct two national highways totalling about 150 km in West Bengal
and state roads totalling about 180 km in Manipur, extending to Myanmar.
The project is expected to be completed by December 31, 2021.
