India, NDB sign agreements for USD 646 million for upgrading state highway network in Andhra

The Indian government and the Andhra Pradesh government on Wednesday signed a loan agreements of up to USD 323 million each with the New Development Bank (NDB) for two road sector projects.

The first project - the Andhra Pradesh Roads and Bridges Reconstruction Project - comprises widening 1,600 km of state highways to double lane and reconstructing dilapidated bridges on the state highway network. The second project - the Andhra Pradesh Mandal Connectivity and Rural Connectivity Improvement Project - comprises widening 1,400 km of district roads to double lane and reconstructing dilapidated bridges on the district road network.

The Andhra Pradesh government will implement the projects through the Roads and Buildings Department.

The two projects are expected to improve mobility and connectivity to the socio-economic centres, enhance transport efficiency, improve road safety and riding quality, and provide all-weather accessibility for the state's road users. The projects would increase the roads' daily traffic capacity to 15,000 passenger car units, which is expected to meet the projected traffic growth over the next 20 years.

"NDB funding shall help to bridge the funding gap for road infrastructure development and will support the Government of Andhra Pradesh in its goal to enhance connectivity between socioeconomic centres" said Xian Zhu, Vice President and Chief Operations Officer of the NDB.

The NDB was established based on the Inter-Governmental agreement among the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) signed on July 15, 2014. The Bank's purpose is to mobilise resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging market economies and developing countries. The tenor of each loan is 32 years, including a moratorium period of 5 years.

( With inputs from ANI )