T

he Asian Development Bank (ADB) will lend Indonesia US$180 million to upgrade low-quality roads along key national routes to unlock growth, investment and livelihood opportunities in some of the country’s less-developed and impoverished areas.

The Regional Roads Development Project will improve over 470 kilometers of roads in northern Kalimantan and southern Java that run through strategic and national transport corridors in four provinces and include sections linking Indonesia to neighboring Malaysia, the ADB said in a press statement released on Friday.

“The upgrade along these vital routes will open up access to markets, investments, job opportunities and social services for many poor communities, which is essential for equitable development across the country,” said James Lynch, ADB’s director of transportation in Southeast Asia.

The 25-year loan will finance approximately 400 kilometers of the project’s roads, while the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) will fund the remaining 76 kilometers with cofinancing of $65 million equivalent.

The Indonesian government will contribute $135.5 million for a total project cost of just over $380.5 million. The project is expected to be completed by February 2016.

“Roads are the dominant mode of transport in Indonesia, but despite a doubling of the national roads budget over the past decade, demand for quality infrastructure far outstrips supply,” Manilla-based ADB said in the statement.

“With many road networks in poor condition, plugging gaps and expanding transport facilities are central features of Indonesia’s drive to spread the benefits of its near-double-digit economic growth to all provinces and islands.”

The ADB road upgrade projects would include parts of the national network in southern Java which are not yet complete, as well as roads in underdeveloped and remote districts in northern Kalimantan.

Links from Kalimantan to the border with Malaysia will be improved, supporting the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area’s drive to develop two land-based transportation corridors to boost regional connectivity, cut transport costs and spur growth.

The project will also include measures to improve road safety and to increase the capacity of national, provincial and district road agencies for transportation sector planning and investment.