The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved Tuesday to provide US$320 million loan to China for the country to build a new expressway in its poor southwest region.
The ADB said in a press release that the Chongqing-Guizhou Roads Development Project will build a new 176-km expressway in the region. It will also upgrade 826-km feeder roads connecting the expressway interchanges to underdeveloped counties and townships.
The expressway will connect Leishendian in Chongqing Municipality and Zunyi in Guizhou Province, said the ADB.
It will be part of the 1,129-kilometer north-south transport corridor of the National Trunk Highway System that will link Chongqing to the southern port city of Zhanjiang.
The ADB loans account for 27 percent of the estimated total project cost of 1.18 billion US dollars.
The loans, carrying an interest determined in accordance with ADB's pool-based variable lending rate system for US dollar loans, are repayable over 24 years including a 4-year grace period.
(Xinhua 11/21/2000)
