The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved $57.5 million in grants and loans to India, Nepal and Bangladesh to develop major tourism sites, including Buddhist sites.

The South Asia Tourism Infrastructure Development Project would improve the existing infrastructure and services and develop new ones in key tourism sites in the three countries. The project is expected to be complete by September 2014, the bank said in a statement.

Beside the ADB support, governments of these countries, and the OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) Fund for International Development, would provide the remaining project cost of $89.5 million.

While India would get a loan of $20 million equivalent from ADB’s ordinary capital resources, Bangladesh would get a $12 million on ADF (Asian Development Fund )loan, and Nepal would get $12.75 million in grants and $12.75 million as loan equivalent, both from ADB’s concessional ADF, the bank said.