July 25, 2007 -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide US$200 million in loans for roads in poverty-stricken areas in the Sichuan and Guangxi provinces, the bank announced on July 18.

According to the bank, better roads will help economic development in western China. Transportation quantity, quality, as well as highways, railways, civil aviation and pipeline transportation construction will all be part of a large-scale transportation network in the region. Especially in rural areas, terrain and economic conditions made it difficult to develop transportation construction.

The two projects are the Chuandong Highway development project in Sichuan and the Longlin-Baise highway construction project in Guangxi.

Work on the Sichuan highway will begin at the end of this year and it is expected to be completed by 2010. The Guangxi highway is still in the preparatory stage and there are no exact dates.

As Sichuan is located in the west of China, it is economically underdeveloped and has poor conditions for the successful building of rural roads, or for promoting coordinated urban and rural economic development.

"The project will cover not only highway construction, but also local road improvements," Wen Zhang, senior project official at the Asian Development Bank, told Emerging China.

The project will promote transport development in the eastern Sichuan, he added, and improve traffic conditions.

According to ADB research, poor infrastructure is a significant factor leading to economic development delays in underdeveloped regions.

The new Chuandong highway will connect to Xi'an and Chongqing city.

"The total investment in this project is about US$1.425 billion," Hao Huang, manager of the Chuandong highway project, told Emerging China. "The project plan is to build 143 kilometers of four-lane toll expressway and improve 430 kilometers of sub-par local roads."

The Chuangdong highway project will promote economic growth, lower the costs of transportation and shorten transportation time between Sichuan and Shanxi provinces, he added.

The ADB is also contributing to a long-term project in Guangxi, where the Longlin-Baise highway construction is currently in its initial stages.

"We have made preparations to receive the ADB loan to build the highway, even though it is in the planning phase right now," Shengru Huang, a manager of the highway project in Guangxi province, told Emerging China. "By building the highways, it will further improve the region, and help develop new markets. The people in the poor regions will get more job opportunities and enjoy the diversity of social services."

The aim of Asian Development Bank is to promote the establishment of the Asian and Pacific region's economic development and cooperation, said ADB's Zhang.

"Providing loans to promote transportation development is in line with our goals of assisting our developing country members with eliminating poverty and improving people's quality of life," he said.

The Asian Development Bank, established in 1996, is a regional international financial institution. There are currently 64 members, including developed and developing countries.