China led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) announced on Wednesday that its board of directors has approval to a $329 million loan to build access roads across 4,000 villages in all 33 districts of Gujarat, India.

Insufficient road connectivity into these villages limits their ability to access healthcare services, bring their goods to market and access transportation for their children to attend schools, it said.

The project was approved by the bank and entails construction and Upgradation of road linkage for last mile connectivity to schools and tribal areas of 33 district and farm-to-market roads for the villagers.

It also added that the project will introduce a first-of-its-kind digitized map that would link ongoing rural road projects to enable real-time monitoring.

AIIB’s vice-president and chief investment officer D.J. Pandian said that the project will also help to integrate rural population, tribal villages, business and industries with the national and state economy through better connectivity. This will contribute to improved agricultural productivity, higher non-farm employment opportunities and increased rural income.

This project will directly contribute to the economic development of the State of Gujarat, and India, by improving the mobility of the rural population. By integrating isolated and poor rural populations with the rest of the state, and improving their access to critical social services, such as education and healthcare, they can have a positive impact on the economic and social outcomes of these local communities.

The bank, in its statement, said that the project will have three components. The first will involve building and upgrading roads along with missing infrastructure like culverts and bridges. Second, it will upgrade planned roads and bridges to prevent floods and widen roads.

The third part involves technical assistance in planning projects as well as developing digitization of Gujarat’s rural road network which would be a pilot project.

The idea is to link up the different projects through a Geographic Information System to enable real time communication as well as monitor execution as well as maintenance.

If the pilot monitoring software tool is successful, the AIIB will introduce it for monitoring other future projects as well.

This is a stand-alone financed project by AIIB and is a part of phase one of the multiphase Government of Gujarat’s “Chief Minister’s Rural Roads Program” that complements the Government of India’s “Prime Minister’s Rural Roads Program”.

The Beijing-based multilateral development bank, largely funded by China, has previously supported a solar plant project in Kazakhstan, a flood management project in the Philippines, a hydro-power plant in Georgia, canals and water tunnel projects in Sri Lanka, as well as electricity and roads projects in India.

Commencing operations in January 2016, AIIB aims to address daunting infrastructure needs across Asia. It has 80 approved members from around the world and is tasked with improving economic and social development in Asia by investing in high quality, financially viable and environmentally friendly infrastructure projects.

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