A loan of US$200 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB)
will assist fund a major ?highway improvement project in
China's northeast, according to a report from ADB on Monday.
The project will develop an integrated road network by upgrading
a 428-kilometer stretch of the Jixi-Nehe highway in Heilongjiang Province and 170 kilometers of
rural roads linking the highway, the report said.
Running across the province the 775-kilometer Jixi-Nehe corridor
connects the eastern and western parts of the northeast province.
More than half of the highway is in poor condition. ?
"The project will help improve transport efficiency and safety,
expand the transport network of Heilongjiang and improve access for
income-generating opportunities and social services," said Eunkyung
Kwon, an ADB Principal Transport Specialist.
ADB had, up to the end of last year, approved US$6.37 billion in
loans to help develop road infrastructure in China.
(Xinhua News Agency August 1, 2006)