ADB approves $190 million more for rural road development in Bangladesh

The additional funds will also help to make agricultural areas more productive and improve rural socioeconomic centres

The Asian Development Bank, or ADB, has approved $190 million in additional funds for the Rural Connectivity Improvement Project in Bangladesh.

These funds will go to upgrading roads in rural areas, making agricultural areas more productive, and improving rural socioeconomic centres in Bangladesh, the ADB said in a statement on Tuesday.

“This is ADB’s second additional financing for the project, further expanding improvement of rural road networks and introducing innovative features in climate and disaster resilience and road asset management to enhance living conditions in rural areas in Bangladesh,” said ADB Principal Rural Development Specialist Masahiro Nishimura.

“This project is helping improve transport efficiency and reliability in rural areas, boost agricultural productivity, and generate employment to help the country’s sustainable economic growth.”

The project started in 2018 with an aim of upgrading 1,700 km of rural roads, improving the capacity of rural infrastructure agencies and road users, and to advance master planning of rural road networks.

Since 2020, the project has added another 900 km of rural roads to its original target.

The new loan will cover the improvement of another 1,350 km of rural roads with “all-weather standards, climate resilience, and safety features”, the ADB said.

The funds will provide equipment and trucks to 180 mobile road maintenance offices at the upazila level and strengthen the capacity of the Local Government Engineering Department, particularly on bioengineering solutions for climate adaptation.