India and Asian Development Bank have signed a 2.5 million dollar (about Rs 18 crore) project readiness financing (PRF) loan to upgrade major district roads in Sikkim.
It will support project preparation and design activities to upgrade district roads in the northeastern state that will help improve connectivity to important towns, rural areas and pilgrimage and tourist destinations.
"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," said Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary at the Department of Economic Affairs in Ministry of Finance.
Takeo Konishi, ADB Country Director for India, said the PRF project aims to ensure implementation readiness through feasibility studies, preparing detailed engineering designs of selected sub-projects, and building capacity of state agencies so that the ensuing project gets completed in a timely manner.
"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."
Sikkim's road network needs to be upgraded to all-weather roads as frequent landslides and erosion damage roads and disrupt intra-state connectivity.
Some of the priority roads identified for upgrading are included in the state's master plan for transport management that was formulated with ADB technical assistance in 2012.
The ADB-funded North Eastern State Roads Investment Programme launched in 2011 had earlier supported road improvements in Sikkim.
( With inputs from ANI )
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