ADB provides Cambodia 69 mln USD for provincial road improvement

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed up to provide 69 million U.S. dollars to Cambodia to support a major upgrade of provincial roads in some of the country ' s poorest provinces, according to the bank's press release on Wednesday.

According to the press conference, the loan agreement was inked between the ADB's Vice-President Stephen Groff and Cambodia's Minister of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon yesterday.

The provincial roads improvement project, financed by a 52 million dollar loan from ADB's Special Funds and a 17 million dollar loan and grant from the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR), will be used to rehabilitate about 150 kilometers of unpaved provincial roads in Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Speu, Prey Veng and Svay Rieng provinces, homes found a large number of the country's rural poor.

"Efficient transport is critical for economic growth. This initiative will provide safe, cost effective and year-round access to markets, employment centers and social services for poor and remote communities," Groff said.

The press release said Cambodia's remote rural economy is becoming increasingly dependent on the road network. However, only 11 percent of the total 9,500 kilometer secondary national and provincial roads are paved. As a result, economic opportunities are limited.

Moreover, the transportation safety has become a serious concern with the steady growth in traffic, overloaded cargo vehicles, and poor road maintenance, which all caused the highest accident rate in the region.

Since the early 1990s, ADB has supported Cambodia to build or upgrade its road network including national, provincial and rural roads.

By the end of 2011, ADB's assistance to the transport sector consisted of 11 projects amounting to 373 million U.S. dollars.

It said the ADB's loan for the Provincial Road Improvement Project, from its concessional Special Funds, will have 32 year term including an eight-year grace period carrying a 1 per annum interest charge, rising to 1.5 percent a year for the balance of the term.

The Ministry of Public Works and Transport is the executing agency for the project, which will commence in April 2012 and be completed in March 2017.