The World Bank has approved an US$100 million loan to finance a transport project in southwest China's Guizhou Province, bank sources said on Monday.

The project is a seven kilometer divided urban arterial road of four to six lanes to serve traffic to and from the southeast urban core. It will strengthen rural transport by increasing the number of villages that have roads leading into the main area highway.

The project aims to assist Guiyang City, capital of Guizhou Province, to increase the access and mobility of its transport users through priority infrastructure investments, the World Bank said.

The Guiyang city government's interest in improving transport, and hence economic growth for its rural population, and reforming its financial and transport institutions, serves as a model throughout China, said John Scales, the World Bank Transport Sector Coordinator in Beijing and Guiyang Transport Project task manager.

The project costs about US$292 million.

(Xinhua News Agency January 15, 2008)