India, World Bank sign $500-million pact for safe, green highways.

The Centre and the World Bank recently signed a $500-million project to build safe and green national highway corridors in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, said a release.

The project will also enhance the capacity of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) in mainstreaming safety and green technologies.

The Green National Highways Corridor Project will support MoRTH to construct 783 km of highways in various geographies by integrating safe and green technology designs such as local and marginal materials, industrial by-products and other bioengineering solutions. The project will help reduce GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions in construction and maintenance of highways.

The $500-million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has a maturity of 18.5 years, including a grace period of five years, it added.

HBL