New Delhi (NVI): A number of roads in the mountainous state of Sikkim will be upgraded, including those connecting to national highway for all-weather linkages, with a loan from Asian Development Bank (ADB) to the tune of USD 2.5 million.
An agreement in this regard was signed between ADB and government of India today.
This agreement will support project preparation and design activities to upgrade major district roads in Sikkim that will help improve connectivity to important towns, rural areas, and pilgrimage and tourist destinations in the northeastern state, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement.
The signatories to the Project Readiness Financing (PRF) loan for the proposed Sikkim Major District Road Upgradation Project were Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance and Takeo Konishi, Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission, it said.
After signing the loan agreement, Mishra said that the PRF will support the state government’s priority in improving road connectivity in the hill state through planning and designing of major district and other roads and bridges that will help boost the state’s economy and improve accessibility for people in remote villages.
“The PRF project aims to ensure implementation readiness through feasibility studies, preparing detailed engineering designs of selected subprojects and building capacity of state agencies so that the ensuing project gets completed in a timely manner,” said Konishi.
“It will also help incorporate elements of road safety, maintenance, and climate adaptation and mitigation in the ensuing project for long-term sustainability of created assets,” Konishi added.
Sikkim’s road network requires upgradation to all-weather roads as frequent landslides and erosion damage roads and disrupt intra-state connectivity, the Ministry said.
The PRF will help the state upgrade identified major district and other roads to improve linkages to the national and state highway network connecting important towns and commercial centers.
Some of the priority roads identified for upgradation are included in the state’s master plan for transport management that was formulated with ADB technical assistance in 2012, it said.
