ADB lends $420 million for India road project

MANILA: The Philippines-based Asian Development Bank is to give a loan of $420 million to upgrade and expand Bihar's highway network, the lender said on Thursday.

The loan will improve about 820 kilometres (508 miles) of roads, the ADB said in a statement.

"The project is a core investment of the state government to transform the state dependent on subsistence farming to a state built on market-oriented agriculture and tourism and to attract private sector investment," ADB transport specialist Hiroaki Yamaguchi said.

A one-million-dollar technical assistance grant to accompany the loan will be used to strengthen the state government's road construction department.

Many of Bihar's roads have deteriorated badly while road traffic has increased in recent years due to India's growing economy, the ADB said.