Road

The World Bank has announced funding of $107m for a road improvement project in Mizoram, India.

The project covers 91km of design-ready roads, which will be widened or strengthened.

The World Bank’s International Development Association will provide the necessary credit to finance the project, which will strengthen links between the Mizoram, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

The connectivity to Bangladesh will result in greater bilateral trade, as well as access to the Port of Chittagong.

The connectivity to Myanmar will provide access to the rest of East Asia.

"The connectivity to Bangladesh will result in greater bilateral trade."

The latest project will also fund detailed studies and designs for an additional 330km of roadworks.

Once the designs are ready, these roadworks may be considered as a follow-on project and additional financing could be provided.

The World Bank noted that if trade barriers between the neighbouring countries are removed, the annual intra-regional trade in Mizoram can more than double to $38bn a year.

Image: The project covers 91km of design-ready roads. Photo: courtesy of Petr Kovar.