The Inter-American Development Bank has approved a ten-year, $1bn loan to Ecuador for its road infrastructure development programme.

The first tranche of the loan will be $350m.

Part of the money will be used to build a bridge over Babahoyo river, to allow for smooth traffic flow between the city of Guayaquil and the canton of Duran.

The money will also fund the repair of 810 miles of paved road axis including the E40 (Salinas-Santa Elena -Guayaquil), some road maintenance works as well as road safety enhancement projects.

The Ecuadorian government will provide $16.5m for the first phase of the programme.