The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Saturday it has approved
US$208 million in a loan for a 64-km-long expressway project in
central China's Hunan
Province.
Jishou-Chadong Expressway aims to spur economic growth in
Hunan's rural and mountainous Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture, where
economic growth has been stunted due to limited road access, by
linking the area to the Changsha-Chongqing Highway, one of the key
traffic passages in the western regions, the bank said in a
statement.
The project covers one city and four counties in which 80
percent of the population lives in rural areas and more than three
quarters of the people are ethnic minorities.
Eunkyung Kwon, an ADB senior transport economist, said improved
transportation will increase income opportunities from cash crop
farming or seasonal work involving migration, promote more contact
with urban centers, and make trips to markets and social services
easier.
Traffic on the expressway is forecast to more than double from
6,000 annual average daily traffic in 2010 to 12,650 in 2019, or an
average annual increase of 8 percent.
The project involves construction of 64 km of toll expressway
from Jishou to Chadong, including a large suspension bridge, 13
tunnels, 36 other large bridges, interchanges, toll stations, and
service areas.
Aside from the expressway, the project will also upgrade 129 km
of local roads, improve access to 52 poor villages, and provide
consulting services and training to enhance the quality of
construction, asset management, local road maintenance, transport
services, and road safety.
The ADB loan has a 25-year term, including a grace period of
five years.
The total project cost is US$519.51 million, with partial
financing from China's Ministry of Communications, the Hunan
provincial government and the China Development Bank. The project
will be managed by the Hunan provincial communications
department.
Since 1991, ADB has extended 31 loans totaling US$6.2 billion to
finance 4,391 km of expressways and 8,237 km of local road networks
in China. ADB has also supplied 54 technical assistance packages
totaling US$28.3 million to the road sector.
(Xinhua News Agency December 18, 2005)