ADB inks pact for road infra upgrades in Sikkim

Asian Development Bank (ADB) has inked a pact with the Union government for $2.5 million loan assistance to upgrade road infrastructure in Sikkim. The project readiness financing (PRF) loan will support project preparation and design activities to upgrade major district roads in the hill state. The pact will help improve connectivity to important towns, rural areas, and pilgrimage and tourist destinations in the north-eastern state. The signatories of the PRF for the proposed Sikkim Major District Road Upgradation Project were Rajat Kumar Mishra from the Ministry of Finance and ADB Country Director of ADB's India Resident Mission Takeo Konishi. State's road network is in dire need of up-gradation to all-weather roads as frequent landslides and erosion damage roads and disrupt intra state connectivity. ADB said, "The PRF will support the state government's priority in improving road connectivity in the hill state through planning and designing of major districts and other roads and bridges that will help boost the state's economy and improve accessibility for people in remote villages." Some of the priority roads identified for up-gradation are included in the state's master plan for transport management that was formulated with ADB technical assistance in 2012 and that the ADB-funded North Eastern State Roads Investment Program launched in 2011 had earlier supported road improvements in Sikkim. The PRF project aims to ensure implementation and readiness through feasibility studies, preparing detailed engineering designs of selected sub projects and building capacity of state agencies so that the ensuing project gets completed in a time bound manner.