The World Bank Wednesday extended to India $45 million technical assistance loan to help strengthen institutional capacity of its National Highways Authority (NHAI).
The technical assistance loan from the World Bank’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development unit has a five-year grace period, and a maturity period of 18.5 years.
“This technical assistance loan will help NHAI adopt global practices that would enhance its operational efficiency as it implements this critical infrastructure programme,” said Venu Rajamony, joint secretary of the finance ministry’s department of economic affairs, after signing the agreement here.
Reiterating the government’s commitment to remove any constraints in road infrastructure, Rajamony said the government has entrusted the responsibility of improving the capacity of India’s core highways to the NHAI.
According to a finance ministry statement Wednesday, nearly 40 percent of the total road traffic in India plies on the national highways network and this share is likely to increase with vehicle growth touching 10 percent annually in recent years.
About 30 percent of the total national highways network is still single-laned, while 53 percent are double-laned and only 17 percent is four/six/eight-laned.
The central government launched the National Highway Development Project in 2000 aimed at improving the conditions of highways in the country. The project is being implemented by the NHAI.
