World Bank invests in road construction and management in rural China

A $300 million World Bank loan was allocated to China to finance two large-scale infrastructural projects in Gansu and Yunnan provinces with the aim of reducing the wealth gap between urban and rural areas.

The “Gansu Rural-Urban Integration Project” aims to renovate and construct new roads and bridges in rural areas in order to connect 48 villages where 168 000 people live under the national poverty line. The second initiative, the “Yunnan Highway Asset Management Project”, financially supports the maintenance and administration of highways, while also helping regional authorities better manage their resources in order to more effectively operate and renew infrastructures in the long run.