The Loan and Project Agreements for Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) lending of US$ 329 million for Gujarat Rural Roads Project have been signed between the Government of India/ Government of Gujarat and the AIIB.
The objective of the project is to improve the rural road connectivity and accessibility (by providing all weather road connectivity) to 1,060 villages in all the 33 districts in Gujarat state benefiting about 8 million people.
The project will also benefit the service providers such as public transport operators, educational institutions, hospitals, local markets and traders.
The project consists of following two main components:
Constructions and Up-gradation of Non-Plan Roads (NPRs): A total of 5000 km of NPRs will be constructed under this component. Besides, it is also envisaged to construct – missing links (last mile connecting to the road network); missing structures (culverts and small bridges); approach roads to educational institutions; and upgrade/ construct roads passing through tribal areas.
Up-gradation of Planned Roads: It is envisaged to upgrade existing earthen and metal roads to black top roads, resurfacing of village roads and other district roads, up-gradation of bridges to prevent flooding and subsequent isolation of flooded villages during monsoon season and widening of village roads and other district roads to ease traffic congestion.
About Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank:
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is an multilateral development bank that aims to support the building of infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region. The bank currently has 56 member states while another 24 are prospective members for a total of 80 approved members and was proposed as an initiative by the government of China.
The initiative gained support from 37 regional and 20 non-regional Prospective Founding Members (PFM), all of which have signed the Articles of Agreement that form the legal basis for the bank.
The bank started operation after the agreement entered into force on 25 December 2015, after ratifications were received from 10 member states holding a total number of 50% of the initial subscriptions of the Authorized Capital Stock.
Major economies that are not members include Japan and the United States.
The bank was proposed by China in 2013 and the initiative was launched in Beijing in October 2014.
AIIB Members List:
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran
Israel
Italy
Jordan
Kazakhstan
South Korea
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Luxembourg
Malaysia
Maldives
Malta
Mongolia
Myanmar
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
South Africa
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sweden
Switzerland
Tajikistan
Thailand
Turkey
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
Uzbekistan
Vietnam