To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether UK aid is (a) directly and (b) indirectly involved in financing the construction of the Asia Highway. (209477)

The information is as follows:

(a) UK aid directly financed 114km of the Butwal-Narayanghat section of the Asian highway in the 1980s and support was also provided for constructing some bridges in the 1990s. Other donors, including the former Soviet Union, India, the People's Republic of China, the Swiss Government and the United States of America also provided support.

(b) Indirectly, we provide finance to multilateral investment banks, including the World Bank Group and the Asian Development Bank. Both have large and complex transport lending portfolios. Through individual sovereign loans to recipient countries, elements of this 26,000km multi-billion pound endeavour have been financed by such banks.