The World Bank has approved the Orissa State Road Project (OSRP) following a protracted negotiation with senior officials of the state government. The $250-million assistance will support improvement of 461 km of state arterial roads and bridges in two phases. In the first phase of the project, 204 km will be taken up and in the second phase, a 257-km road will be developed. A formal agreement for the loan assistance was signed last week in Washington, official sources said here on Monday. The World Bank will lend up to 80 per cent of the project cost while the state will fund the rest 20 per cent. The loan will be repaid over a period of 25 years, including a grace period of five years. The World Bank loan does not include the cost of the land required for the OSRP. The package is designed to build, maintain, and improve crucial state roads. The project aims to upgrade and maintain an extensive network that will enhance local competitiveness, help promote economic growth and provide adequate all-year reliable and safe access throughout the country. A significant number of the roads being improved are in the poor regions as well as Naxal-affected areas in south Orissa. Under the OSRP, a total of 461 km of roads will be improved to two-lane road with paved shoulder and reconstruction of the bridge on Bansadhara near Gumuda will be taken up. In the first phase of the project, 204 km of road will be constructed. It includes the construction of 68-km Bhawanipatna-Khariar road, 95-km-long Chandbali-Bhadrakh-Anandapur road and 41-km Berhampur-Taptapani road. Similarly, the construction of 257 km of road will be taken up in the second phase. This includes the Taptapani-Raipanka road (68 km), Raipanka-JK Pur (83 km) and Jagatpur-Chandabali (106 km). Official sources said, the contract for Berehampur-Taptapani road has already been awarded and bids for Bhawanipatna-Khariar and Chandbali-Bhadrakh-Anandapur roads are under evaluation. Besides these roads, feasibility report and the bid documents for the four-laning of the 165-km Sambalpur-Rourkela road, two-laning of the Joda-Bambry road (with paved shoulder) and two-laning of the 46-km Koira-Tensa-Lahunipara (with paved shoulder) is under preparation.