An agreement for 220 million dollars for the Himachal Pradesh State Roads Project was signed today in New Delhi.
New Delhi, Aug.7 :An agreement for 220 million dollars for the Himachal Pradesh State Roads Project was signed today in New Delhi.
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh witnessed the signing of the agreement.
Madhusudan Prasad, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, signed on behalf of the Central Government, while Subhash Chander Negi, Principal Secretary, Himachal Pradesh Public Works Department and Isabel Guerrero, World Bank Country Director( India) were the other signatories.
The loan is designed to reduce transport costs and to improve traffic flows on the state's core road network.
The total road network in the state is about 28,000km, comprising 2,000km of national highways, 2,160km of state highways, and 2,240km of major district roads.
"State road projects in India have often suffered from lack of maintenance of the rest of the network, resulting in project roads being an island of quality amidst a sea of disrepair," said Ke Fang, World Bank Economist and project team leader.
"This project has been specifically designed to try to address this challenge. A significant portion of the project's investments will be spent in road maintenance, including piloting innovative Performance-Based Maintenance Contracts," he said.
The loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has 20 years maturity, including a five-year grace period.
ANI