FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ' .

• INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT

1818 H STREET, N.W., WASHINGTON 251 0. C. TELEP='::l(?l"L~: EXECUTIVE 3-6360 Public Disclosure Authorized

Press Release No. 723 SUBJECT: $40 million loan for November 29, 1961 Japanese Expressway

The World Bank today made a loan equivalent to $40 million to assist in

financing completion of the express highway being built between Kobe and Nagoya

in Japan. The :Expressway will I'\;,·lieve increasingly severe traffic congestion in

one of Japan's most highly industrialized regions, stimulate the dispersion of Public Disclosure Authorized industry and population out of over-crowded cities, widen the effective area of

food supply for urban communities, and substantially reduce the operating cost

of highway freight and passenger traffic. A Bank loan of $40 million was made

• in March 196o for a 45-mile section of the Expressway and today's loan will be

used to complete the Expressway over its entire planned length of 115 miles,.

Five commercial banks are participating in the loan, without the World Bank's

Public Disclosure Authorized bfua.rantee, f'or a total amount of $'!.,183,000, representing the first two maturi­

ties and. pa.rt of the third maturity which fall due bet1reen January 15, 1965 and

January 15, 1966. The participating banks a.re the New York Agency of The

Toronto-Dominion Bank, The National Shawmut Bank of Boston, First Wisconsin

National Bank of Milwaukee, Fidelity-Philadelphia Trust Company and Bayerisc;he

Hypotheken-und Wt~.dh!:1e-i~13ook,. •M:uniclh.

The loan was made to the Nihon Doro Kocian ( Japan H,.ghway Public Corporation), I a government corporation responsible for the construction, operation and main­ Public Disclosure Authorized tenance of toll roads and related,facilities in Japan. over the next five yea.rs, the Highway Corporation plans:-, to.: ~vest the equivalent of some $844 million for improvement of' transportatio"' .tAc.U.:l;.ties in Japa,n,' $nd first priority has been •• ·, given to the Kobe-Nagoya _,,ss~ .. - 2 -

~ri. the past five years,· truck traffic in Japan has doubled and bus and ~• a~tomobile passenger traffiq has increased by nearly as much •. The area to be servea by the Kobe-Nagoya Expressway contains four of Japan's six largest cities (Kobe, Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya), 15% of the total population and over a quarter of the nation's motor vehicles. Industries, agriculture and trade

of the area contribute about a fourth of the national income and its factories

produce about 40% of the value of the country's exports.

In general, roads in the area are built to inadequate standards and are heavily congested. Most of them cut through built up industrial, commercial and residential districts where reasonable speeds are impossible and serious delays cannot be avoided. The railways are being used to full capacity; further­

more, the large volume of inter-urban and commuter passenger traffic restricts

their ability to carry any but long-haul freight. The new Expressway will not

• only relieve congestion and expedite the movement of freight, particularly of short-haul, high-value goods, but 'Will generally contribute to the economic growth of the region as a whole.

The Expressway will be a four-lane, divided, limited access highway. The

first 45-mile section, from Ritto to Amagasaki, is now about 45% complete and

should be finished on schedule in March 1963. The sections now to be built con­ sist of a five-mile extension from Amagasaki to Nishinomiya and a 65-mile exten- \ \ ''"----- s:!.on from Ritto to Ichinomiya. The Amagasaki-Nishinomiya section traverses the h~avily built up Hanshin industrial area along Osaka Bay between the cities of

Osaka and Kobe, necessitating the construction of urban viaducts and bridges.

The Ritto-Ichinomiya section connects the Kyoto and Nagoya area; the pa.rt up to

Hikone traverses rolling terrain, another part crosses steep mountainous country • '

• - 3 - which will require tunnels, and the final part runs through the industrial out·· • skirts of Nagoya. The tvro new sections being financed with the help of today's Bank loan will be built to the same modern expressway design standards as the Amagasaki-Ritto ' J section. Construction will include earthworks, bridges, viaducts, tunnels,

paving, interchanges, service areas, bus stops, toll stations and traffic control facilities, access and appurtenant "WOrks.

All construction will be done by contractors supervised by the Highway Corporation's staff with the advice of foreign consultants. Foreign contractors

with experience in expressway construction will be given the opportunity to bid for all major works. The Expressway is scheduled for completion by 1964. The cost of the whole Expressway is estimated at the equivalent of $356 mil­ lion; in addition, the equivalent of $108 million w!..11 be invested by the Govern-

• ment and local authorities in access roads. The coot of the two sections for ~hich today's loan was made will be equivalent to $212 million, of which the Bank

~-s providing $40 million. The Bank loan is for a term of 23 yea.rs and bears interest of 5-:/4% per Rnnum including the 1% commission 'Which is allocated to the Bank's Special Re­

serve. Amortization will begin in January 1965. The loan is guaranteed by the Government of Japan. Including today's loan, the Bank has made 24 loans in Japan totaling the equivalent of $482 million. In addition to the previous Expressway loan, the other loans assisted in the development of the iron aill!:,,~teel industry, electric power, land reclamation, irrigation and a variety of industries • •

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