PMFORUM Breaking News
Breaking News in the Project Management World
Friday, May 02, 2008
Additional $200M approved for Anhui Roads Project in China
The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors have approved a loan of $200 million to the People's Republic of China for roads infrastructure improvements in Anhui Province in support of social and economic development in the region.
Located in eastern China with about 65 million people, Anhui’s geographic location makes the province a natural crossing area for the flow of industrial products and technology between more developed coastal provinces and less prosperous inland regions. However, the average service level of Anhui’s 71,000 km highway network is limited due to the relatively low technical standards. The percentage of paved roads is also the lowest compared to the six surrounding provinces.
Other major highway issues include connections on the east-forward corridors consisting of roads of a class not commensurate with their function, deteriorating condition of several priority segments, and unbalanced distribution of road connectivity across the Province.
The Anhui Highway Rehabilitation and Improvement Project seeks to assist the Government of Anhui with enhancing the level of service and traffic capacity by improving the conditions of the roads across the province, more efficient roads maintenance, enhanced road network planning and management, and optimizing the use of resources for the upkeep of road assets.
“Through the project, we hope to help improve the living conditions in Anhui Province by enhancing the transport accessibility to economic opportunities and social services,” said World Bank project leader and Lead Transport Specialist Aurelio Menendez. “The project also aims at reducing transport costs so as to stimulate higher economic growth within the province and between Anhui and its neighboring provinces.”
World Bank finance accounts for over 40% of the total project cost of $468 million. It will be used to improve pavement conditions of about 890 km of the road network, upgrade about 320 km of key provincial and national roads, pilot road maintenance by contract approach, and support technical assistance and staff training. This is the third highway project that the World Bank has supported in Anhui Province.
For more information about the project, please click here. For more information about the World Bank and China, visit: www.worldbank.org/cn
Other major highway issues include connections on the east-forward corridors consisting of roads of a class not commensurate with their function, deteriorating condition of several priority segments, and unbalanced distribution of road connectivity across the Province.
The Anhui Highway Rehabilitation and Improvement Project seeks to assist the Government of Anhui with enhancing the level of service and traffic capacity by improving the conditions of the roads across the province, more efficient roads maintenance, enhanced road network planning and management, and optimizing the use of resources for the upkeep of road assets.
World Bank finance accounts for over 40% of the total project cost of $468 million. It will be used to improve pavement conditions of about 890 km of the road network, upgrade about 320 km of key provincial and national roads, pilot road maintenance by contract approach, and support technical assistance and staff training. This is the third highway project that the World Bank has supported in Anhui Province.
For more information about the project, please click here. For more information about the World Bank and China, visit: www.worldbank.org/cn
