ADB, India Sign $177 Mn Loan for Improving Maharashtra Roads

The signatories to the Maharashtra State Road Improvement Project were Sameer Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary (Fund Bank and ADB), Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance who signed for the Govt of India, and Kenichi Yokoyama, Country Director of ADB?s India Resident Mission who signed for ADB.

After the signing ceremony, Khare said that the project will improve connectivity between rural areas and urban centers in the state enabling rural communities to better access markets, employment opportunities and services. Improved mobility will expand development and livelihood opportunities outside of the state?s major urban centers to second-tier cities and towns thus reducing income disparities.

Yokoyama said that the project will also strengthen road safety measures by developing a road safety audit framework that will protect vulnerable groups such as the elderly, women, and children, following the international best practice. Giving more details, Yokoyama said that another feature of the project was to update the road maintenance system by encouraging five-year performance-based maintenance obligations to contractors to sustain asset quality and service levels.

Overall, the project will upgrade 2 major district roads and 11 state highways, with combined length of 450 km, to 2-lane standard across seven districts of Maharashtra, and improve connectivity to national highways, interstate roads, seaports, airports, rail hubs, district headquarters, industrial areas, enterprise clusters and agricultural areas.

The project will also focus on training the Maharashtra Public Works Department project staff to build their capacity in climate change adaptation and disaster resilient features in road design, road maintenance planning and road safety.