The World Bank (WB) Board of Executive Directors approved two loans totaling US$174 million to China on Wednesday, according to sources with the WB Beijing Office.
One loan, valued at US$100 million, will be used to improve urban transport in the city of Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Measures to be taken include building more urban infrastructure, such as ring roads; improving pubic transport and area traffic management; enhancing vehicle emission control; and drafting landscaping programs.
The total project cost is estimated at US$270 million, with US$170 million coming from the Chinese government.
The other project -- "Water Conservation Project" -- aims to achieve efficient use of water resources and improve the water scarcity problem in China's Northern Plain.
The project includes investment in irrigation and drainage work, agricultural support, and forestry and environmental monitoring in the Chinese provinces of Hebei and Liaoning, and the municipalities of Beijing and Qingdao.
The project is expected to cost a total of more than US$180 million, with over US$50 million contributed by the Chinese government and the remaining amount by local farmer organizations.
(Xinhua 12/20/2000)
