Addis Ababa: Ministry of Urban and Infrastructure announced today a 407 million USD rural roads expansion project. Minister of Urban and Infrastructure, Chaltu Sani told the media today that the project will be implemented over the next five years across the nation. Out of the total 407 USD project finance; 300 million USD is obtained from the World Bank while the remaining will be covered by regional states, the minister revealed. The project is expected to be implemented in 126 districts located across all regions including Dire Dawa city administration to connect rural roads with highways. She highlighted the contribution of the project for rural farmers to supply their agricultural products to the market, in addition to its benefits to connect people who are inaccessible due to lack of road infrastructures. Since the project connects farmers and consumers, it will have a major impact on boosting the productivity of farmers in the areas and enhance food security. The minister further mentioned about government's ongoing activities aimed at addressing citizen's demand for infrastructures based on the necessary researches, noting the construction of various rural roads carried out over the past years. Source: Ethiopian News Agency