The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a 150 millon U.S. dollars loan to help improve infrastructure and living environment in a prefecture of China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
The fund will finance an infrastructure project in Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture near Xinjiang's capital Urumqi, which is rapidly urbanizing but remains constrained by challenges in urban infrastructure and services, according to the ADB.
The project, covering the city of Fukang and counties of Hutubi and Qitai, will construct or rehabilitate roads and install utility pipes for water, wastewater, heating, and gas in the three areas.
Specifically, it will help local governments better manage the water supply and solid waste in Qitai County, and fund the planting of trees in the city of Fukang, which will help preserve soil, reduce flooding, and form ecological protection shelterbelts, the bank said.
The project will also help improve urban planning in Changji and help rural migrants better adapt to the urban environment by enhancing the quality of their technical and vocational education and training.
"The project aims to help the government establish a livable environment and sound economic base in the Urumqi-Changji economic corridor by responding to economic and social development challenges," said Hinako Maruyama, an Urban Development Specialist at ADB.
The total cost of the project will be 255.42 million dollars, with the rest of funding to be covered by governments of Fukang, Hutubi and Qitai. The project is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2023.
