The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $300 million loan as additional financing for the ongoing Maharashtra Rural Connectivity Improvement Project that is upgrading rural roads and connecting rural areas with markets and services in the State of Maharashtra in India.

The ongoing project, approved in August 2019, has been improving and maintaining the condition and safety of 2,100 kilometers (km) of rural roads across Maharashtra. The additional financing will improve an additional 1,100 rural roads and 230 bridges for a total length of 2,900 km in 34 districts.

“The additional financing aims to help accelerate Maharashtra’s economic recovery from COVID-19 devastation by generating rural employment and transforming agriculture,” said ADB Senior Rural Development Specialist for South Asia Masahiro Nishimura. “The state government targets to increase the average growth rate of agriculture and allied activities to more than 5% per year by 2030. The project will also provide last-mile connectivity to a large number of small villages, enhancing access to health and education facilities and greatly benefitting poor and vulnerable population by increasing agriculture productivity.”

News Source: Business World