USTDA helps tsunami-damaged Indonesian province

USTDA helps tsunami-damaged Indonesian province    The U.S. Trade and Development Agency will provide a $444,000 grant to Indonesia’s Aceh and Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency to help develop a blueprint for rebuilding the Aceh Province’s intermodal network.
   The province’s intermodal network, including roads, airport, ports and rail lines, were severely damaged by the 2004 tsunami that struck the region. Since then, reconstruction efforts in the transportation sector have focused on road improvements.
   The USTDA said the grant for technical assistance “will help to ensure that the province’s reconstructed transportation network is developed in a forward-looking manner to serve as an efficient engine for economic development.”
   The USTA also said the technical assistance will help identify infrastructure that is less vulnerable to future disasters.
   To conduct the technical assistance required under the grant, U.S. firms must access the Federal Business Opportunities Web site at https://www.fedbizopps.gov.
   Since 2004, the USTDA has provided more than $6 million in funding for bilateral and regional activities associated with tsunami reconstruction efforts in Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Maldives and India.