A loan of US$200 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will assist fund a major  highway improvement project in China's northeast, according to a report from ADB on Monday.

The project will develop an integrated road network by upgrading a 428-kilometer stretch of the Jixi-Nehe highway in Heilongjiang Province and 170 kilometers of rural roads linking the highway, the report said.

Running across the province the 775-kilometer Jixi-Nehe corridor connects the eastern and western parts of the northeast province. More than half of the highway is in poor condition.  

"The project will help improve transport efficiency and safety, expand the transport network of Heilongjiang and improve access for income-generating opportunities and social services," said Eunkyung Kwon, an ADB Principal Transport Specialist.

ADB had, up to the end of last year, approved US$6.37 billion in loans to help develop road infrastructure in China.

(Xinhua News Agency August 1, 2006)