WB Finances Highway Project in Central ChinaThe World Bank (WB) Monday granted a loan of US$150 million to central China's Henan Province for the development of its transport infrastructure.The project, with an estimated total investment of US$360 million, aims to reduce traffic congestion and enhance mobility in the Zhumadian-Xinyang corridor in Henan, a key section of China's national trunk highway system. The main section of the 133-kilometer-long highway, now under construction, is expected to be completed by 2003, an official with the Henan provincial government said. Since 1989, Henan has utilized more than US$700 million of WB loans for the construction of three key highways: Zhengzhou-Luoyang highway, Anyang-Xinxiang highway and Luoyang- Sanmenxia highway, with a total length of 465 kilometers, the official added. To support China's road construction, according to a senior WB official in charge of transport, the WB will provide loans for two new highways each year, and more money will be channeled to the construction of smaller roads in the interior provinces. Statistic show that the WB has financed seven key highway projects in China from 1998 to 2000, with total investment exceeding US$1.5 billion. |
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