Approximately 1.5 million rural residents in Madhya Pradesh, India, stand to directly benefit from improved livelihoods, education and mobility with the USD140-million loan approved by the Board of Directors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). The project, cofinanced with the World Bank, aims to improve rural road connectivity and management for residents of 5,640 villages who use the rural roads for daily activities.
Livelihoods of the rural population will be improved by expanding income earning opportunities through better farm-to-market road connections. Moreover, more children are expected to enroll in higher education programs and school attendance is expected to improve. The road maintenance pilot under the project will employ more women, contributing to gender equality and income generation.
"Promoting sustainable growth in India through investment in rural infrastructure will require substantial financing," said AIIB Vice President and Chief Investment Officer D.J. Pandian. "I am glad that AIIB’s participation in this project will contribute to reducing this financing gap and enhance overall development in the region."
In addition to the above, the project also aims to improve durability and accessibility, and enhance resilience to climate change of the gravel surfaced rural road in Madhya Pradesh while building the capacity of the state to manage its rural road network and road safety. The planned activities under the project are:
- Upgrading the gravel surfaced roads to a sealed surface standard.
- Providing additional linkages to villages with potential for high growth.
- Enhancing institutional capacity through implementing/upgrading a rural road asset management system and strengthening design and research and quality assurance capacity of the implementation agency.
- Developing road safety management capacity with road accident data management system and piloting a comprehensive road safety program.
- Supporting design, implementation and management.
"This project will provide sustainable and safe last-mile connectivity to small villages and improve mobility of the rural population of Madhya Pradesh," said AIIB Director General of Investment Operations Supee Teravaninthorn. "The project will stimulate economic development in the entire state and improve the livelihoods of the rural population, especially rural women and girls. It is a typical reflection of our priorities of enhancing economic growth and sustainability through infrastructure investment."
Additional information and the project’s Environmental and Social Management Plan can be found at here.
About Us
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank with a mission to improve social and economic outcomes in Asia and beyond. Headquartered in Beijing, we commenced operations in January 2016 and have now grown to 84 approved members from around the world. By investing in sustainable infrastructure and other productive sectors today, we will better connect people, services and markets that over time will impact the lives of billions and build a better tomorrow.
