ADB Approves Development Loans to China, Sri LankaThe Asian Development Bank (ADB) Tuesday approves loans to three development projects in China and Sri Lanka.The mountainous and remote areas of China's Jiangxi and Fujian provinces will be opened up to rapid economic progress with the construction of a 277-kilometer railway project for which the ADB approved a loan of 200 million U.S. dollars. When constructed, the single-track railway linking Ganzhou and Longyan will provide efficient and low-cost transportation to some 4.1 million rural people and also enable the development of abundant natural resources which presently cannot be tapped due to limited transportation access. A part from laying railway track, the project will also construct 141 bridges, 99 tunnels and 14 new railway stations. It will also provide the latest in communication equipment and information systems and train locals in the use and maintenance of modern equipment. The ADB is financing 26 percent of the total project cost and China Development Bank and the Ministry of Railways will finance the balance. Poor rural residents in the China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region will benefit from a new expressway and road upgrading project to be partly financed by a 150-million-dollar loan approved by the ADB. The project will build a 179-km four-lane tollway from Nanning, the capital city of Guangxi to Youyiguan at the Vietnam border, and 49 km of connecting roads. The civil works will include interchanges with toll stations, tunnels, bridges, administrative stations, and service areas. Some 507 km of local roads serving poor areas will also be improved. The project is due to be completed by April 2005, at a total estimated cost of 455.2 million dollars. A project to stimulate economic growth and create income and employment opportunities in Sri Lanka's Southern Province was also boosted with the approval of a loan of Special Drawing Rights 19.38 million (25 million dollars) by the ADB. The project will help potential entrepreneurs to identify opportunities in agriculture-based enterprises and provide them with access to technology, markets and credit. The ADB loan to Sri Lanka will cover 58 percent of the total project cost of 42.7 million dollars. |
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