The Uttar Pradesh government will get $400 million World Bank loan to upgrade and strengthen 500 kilometres of state highways as well as look for measures to reduce accidents and fatalities on roads.
The agreement was signed between the Government of India, Government of Uttar Pradesh and World Bank on Friday.
The loan agreement was signed by Sameer Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Union Finance Ministry, on behalf of the Government of India; Girijesh Kumar Tyagi, Special Secretary (PWD), on behalf of the Government of Uttar Pradesh and Junaid Ahmad, Country Director, India, on behalf of the World Bank.
The $400 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has a 6-year grace period and a final maturity of 24 years.
“Infrastructure development, particularly roads, is a priority for the Government of India,” Khare said.
“The UP Core Road Network Project will help Uttar Pradesh develop an efficient road network which will help integrate the less developed regions in the state and accelerate agricultural and industrial growth,” he said.
The Uttar Pradesh Core Road Network Development Project will help the state’s Public Works Department to design and build green highways which are resilient to the effects of climate change. It will also strengthen the PWD’s capacity to identify issues on road safety, improve traffic flows and reduce fatalities on congested district and state highways.
Uttar Pradesh is one of the largest states in India, with a population of nearly 220 million and an average GDP growth rate of 6.5 per cent over the last decade. Even though rural connectivity has been improving in the state, the condition of the state highways and major district roads, which link the rural road network and the national highways, has not improved at the same pace. Further, there were more than 20,000 traffic-related deaths in the state in 2017, an increase of 23.5 per cent from 2014.
“Building safe and efficient core road infrastructure is critical for economic growth,” said Junaid Ahmad.
“The World Bank support to Uttar Pradesh will help build a high-quality, resilient, safe and sustainable road network in the state. This will strengthen the state’s human capital through better access to health, education and employment opportunities that will help alleviate poverty,” he added.
Junaid Ahmad said that employment opportunities for women were expected to increase as all civil work contracts drawn up under the project would require contractors to hire females for at least 30 per cent of the routine maintenance works.
“Contractors will be encouraged to recycle and use local materials in construction, grow plantations along the corridor, practice soil and water conservation and use energy-efficient lighting,” he said.
The World Bank representative further said that in view of the socio-economic costs of road deaths, a major focus would be on strengthening the road safety policy of the state government.
This will build capacity of the agencies responsible for road safety within the state to develop accident data management systems, strengthen the road safety cell and help establish a highway police for the first time in the state.
“Targeted interventions to change road users’ behaviour will be used to achieve visible and measurable reductions in traffic fatalities. This will be facilitated through improved police enforcement and social marketing measures on high-risk national and state highways,” he said.
