AIIB approves $140 million loan to improve rural connectivity in Madhya Pradesh

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved a $140 million loan for improving rural connectivity in Madhya Pradesh. The project, which is being co-financed by the World Bank, aims to improve durability and accessibility of the gravel surfaced rural road, and enhance its resilience to weather changes, while building the state’s capacity to manage its rural road network and address road safety issues. The planned activities under the project are upgrading gravel surfaced roads to a sealed surface standard, providing additional linkages to villages with a potential for high growth, enhancing institutional capacity through the implementation/ upgradation of a rural road asset management system, and strengthening the design, research and quality assurance capacity of the implementation agency. Further, developing road safety management capacity with a road accident data management system and piloting a comprehensive road safety programme are also planned under the project.