ADB, India sign $295-million loan to upgrade Bihar highways

July 27, 2023: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the government today signed an agreement for a $295-million loan to upgrade around 265-kilometre state highways with climate and disaster resilient design and road safety elements in Bihar.

The project supports Bihar’s programme to upgrade all state highways to standard two-lane widths and improve road safety. The improved roads will enhance connectivity in some of Bihar poorest rural districts and promote access to health and education facilities, and markets to improve people’s lives.

“Besides upgrading roads, the ADB project builds on earlier efforts to enhance the state road agency’s management and implementation capacity and will strengthen the systems for planning, road safety, and sustainability,” said Takeo Konishi, country director for the ADB in India.

State road agency, the Bihar State Road Development Corporation, will include developing a road asset management system, which includes climate change and disaster risk information, establishing research laboratories in the Bihar Road Research Institute to enable investigation of materials, including reusable, and sustainable materials, to alleviate the effects of climate change, conducting studies on congestion management and climate adaptation, and creating guidelines for gender-inclusive practices in road safety measures.

The project will also encourage women’s participation by providing employment in construction works. Training in livelihood as well as awareness on road safety, health, hygiene, abuse and harassment will be offered to women from communities in the project areas.

Since 2008, the ADB has provided five loans totaling $1.63 billion to Bihar for upgrade of about 1,696 km of state highways and construction of a new bridge over the Ganga.

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