DHAKA, Feb 2 (NNN-BSS) – The Bangladeshi government signed a 500-million-U.S. dollar financing agreement with the World Bank, to help upgrade a highway and enhance connection of rural roads and markets, benefitting over 20 million people, living in the country’s western region, said a statement, yesterday.
The Western Economic Corridor and Regional Enhancement (WeCARE) Programme Phase I project, will help upgrade the 48 km two-lane Jashore-Jhenaidah road, to a modern four-lane highway.
The project will also help rehabilitate about 600 km of area, connecting rural roads and building new or developing existing rural markets. It will also install fiber-optic cables along the highway, to ensure fast and reliable internet service.
According to the statement, the project is the first of a multi-phased 1.4- billion-U.S. dollar programme of 10 years to upgrade the existing 110 km two-lane highway, Bhomra-Satkhira-Navaron and Jashore-Jhenaidah.
In the current phase, it said, the project will be implemented in four districts: Jashore, Jhenaidah, Magura, and Chuadanga.
In the first two years, the project will create about 1.3 million day jobs for local people, said the statement.– NNN-BSS
