The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors approved a US$250
million loan for the China Hubei Xiaogan-Xiangfan Highway Project
on September 17. The project will provide for a more effective,
safe, and efficiently managed highway system, which will help to
support social and economic development as well as trade in Hubei
Province. It will also improve transportation links to China's
Western region.
The project will support the construction of the 243.5 kilometers
Xiaogan-Xiangfan expressway, as well as the improvement of road
accessibility in poor counties. It will also strengthen the
capacity of highway management in Hubei province.
"About 24 million people live in Hubei province areas will directly
benefit from this project," says World Bank Lead Transport
Specialist and Task Manager for the project Michel Bellier. "It
will lower transportation costs, make road travel safer, and make
it easier for residents of low income areas to access markets,
schools, and health centers."
Specifically, the benefits from the project will include:
- Increased capacity for transportation, and a decrease in
traffic congestion in the Xiaogan-Xiangfan corridor; also, regional
and economic integration with the less developed western areas of
Hubei province through the construction of the Xiaogan-Xiangfan
Expressway.
- Improved accessibility to transportation links in low income
areas in Hubei province through a program of rehabilitation and
upgrading of rural roads in poor counties; and
- Improved management and maintenance of roads and better road
safety conditions through the provision of training, technical
assistance, and equipment to the Hubei Provincial Communication
Department and related provincial road agencies.
(china.org.cn September 18, 2002)
