The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) have signed a USD $5.5 million grant to support road transport projects in the FSM. The FSM’s Department of Finance and Administration Secretary Eugene Amor and ADB Pacific Department Deputy Director-General Emma Veve signed the agreement, which will fund assessments, planning, and capacity building for implementing road transport projects.Â
ADB is providing USD 5 million from its Asian Development Fund for the grant, while the government of the FSM is contributing $500,000. This grant will use ADB’s project readiness financing (PRF) to hasten the delivery of projects that will resolve critical, medium-term transport challenges, as well as build long-term capability to sustainably operate and maintain roads, said Veve.
The circumference roads in the FSM’s four states are vital for the dispersed population to access goods and services and critical for the FSM’s economic development. Funding and management challenges have resulted in inadequate improvements and maintenance, problems exacerbated by increasingly frequent bouts of extreme weather, said Amor.
Funding and management challenges have resulted in inadequate improvements and maintenance, problems exacerbated by increasingly frequent bouts of extreme weather, said Amor.
The FSM’s road network is facing increased use even though with bad roads and impacts of climate change. The number of vehicles in the country grew 30% in the four years to 2019, and traffic flows that reduced during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic are set to grow again as economic activity resumes. The PRF will support a series of road and bridge projects in all four of the FSM’s states that will improve connectivity and help protect against climate change and disasters triggered by natural hazards. To further proceed with the projects, the PRF will rank and prioritise them, produce engineering surveys and detailed project designs, and prepare procurement plans and bidding documents. This assistance will reduce start-up delays and ensure quality design.
The projects advanced under ADB’s PRF will contribute to the FSM’s Pave the Nation Programme and dovetail with support from other development partners to bridge a funding gap in the FSM’s transport infrastructure needs. Over the past 2 decades, India has witnessed sound economic growth to emerge as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. Poverty has been more than halved since 2004, but the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in 2020 hampered the country’s economic growth trajectory and caused severe health, social, and economic impacts. ADB intends to sustain its regular assistance programme and give additional resources to support India’s many COVID-19-related challenges. The bank will seek to accelerate efforts for financial leveraging to attract private investments and promote local resource mobilisation.
The bank will seek to accelerate efforts for financial leveraging to attract private investments and promote local resource mobilisation.