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The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday approved a US$312.5 million loan to develop the road network in the western part of Hunan Province, central China.

The project supports the Chinese governmenta?s strategy to develop the countrya?s western region by supplying a vital section of the Changsha-Chongqing corridor, one of eight prioritized western corridors in the 10th Five Year Plan, the ADB said in a prepared statement.

The funds will be used to construct a 173-kilometer, four-lane toll expressway from Changde to Huaihua, and upgrade 517 kilometers of local roads serving 404 impoverished villages. They will also provide consulting services and training to enhance construction quality, road safety, and project monitoring and evaluation.

The development of the road network in western Hunan will help transmit the benefits of the eastern regiona?s economic growth to the underdeveloped western region. Some 1.9 million people, or 68 percent of the total population in the project area, will directly benefit from the project. Around 42 percent of them are members of ethnic minorities.

The project area is largely rural and mountainous, and existing road infrastructure is inadequate to support economic growth, a prerequisite to tackling poverty in the area.

Transport providers such as bus and truck operators will benefit, as will passengers and traders who will all enjoy speedier, more comfortable travel and improved road safety.

The roads should also lower the cost of transporting goods in and out of the region, and spur tourism.

The total cost of the project is estimated at US$778.1 million. It is scheduled to be complete in December 2009.