KINGSTOWN, St Vincent — The European Union has signed a financing agreement of EC$18.35 million (€5.98 million) with the government of St Vincent and the Grenadines for a road management and rural road improvement programme. This programme will be implemented by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) under an agreement with the European Union.
The overall objective of the intervention is to enhance the quality of and to improve climate change resilience of the road network in St Vincent and the Grenadines, in particular rural roads. Under the initiative approximately ten kilometres of road will be repaired and upgraded, and a national road maintenance database established. The database will be instrumental in the efficient and proper maintenance of roads in the country in general and also at times of damage from hurricanes and flooding. Such efficient maintenance is expected to contribute to the stimulation of economic activities in rural communities and reduced vulnerability to climate change.
To reduce the adverse effects of natural disasters in infrastructure, and therefore in rural roads contributing to their sustainability, the road maintenance programme will incorporate disaster risk reduction measures, such as preventative maintenance, appropriate zoning, hazard mapping, as well as flood and landslide mitigation.
