Illustrative image (Photo: Wikipedia) Phnom Penh (VNA) - The World Bank’s Board ofExecutive Directors on July 17 approved a 100 million USD credit from theInternational Development Association (IDA) for the Cambodia Road ConnectivityImprovement Project.
The project willenhance rural communities’ access to critical services, such as health centres,hospitals, schools and markets, through the improvement of climate-resilientrural roads.
By improving selected sections of national and provincial roads, the project willalso reduce transportation costs and road disruption risks, helping tofacilitate agriculture supply chains and tourism development.
Despitesignificant improvements of past years, transportation costs remain high inCambodia. Roads are the predominant transportation mode for the country, andinvestments are needed, particularly in rural areas. Rural roads account formore than 75 percent of the road network, yet only 5 percent are paved. With achanging climate, heavy rainfalls and flooding pose an increasing risk of disruptionsfor road connectivity, the WB said in its press release.
Rural accessibilityanalysis conducted as part of the project preparation indicates that duringfloods more than 26 percent of the population in the project area face risks oflosing access to emergency health facilities and schools, it added.
The targeted project area includes Kampong Cham, Tboung Khmum and Kratieprovinces with a population of over 2 million people, of whom 80 percent livein rural areas.
Inguna Dobraja,World Bank Country Manager for Cambodia, said the project is the WB’s commitmentto support the development of Cambodia’s road infrastructure. It will helpbetter connect people to services, reduce disruptions, and generate jobs forlocal communities during road construction./.
VNA
