The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved US$600 million as emergency fund for tsunami-affected countries, including the worst-hit Indonesia which will receive the largest amount of the fund, the president of the bank said in Jakarta Thursday.

The bank also converted another US$65 million for projects in Indonesia to assist victims of tsunami disaster in the provinces of Aceh and north Sumatra, Haruhiko Kuroda, the president of the ADB was quoted by the Tempo interactive online as saying.

"Indonesia will get the biggest portion of the funds," he said. However he declined to elaborate the number of fund allocated for Indonesia.

To avoid the leak of the funds, Haruhiko said that the bank would work with the governments to expeditiously deliver the assistance packages at the country level.

Indonesia, India, Maldives, Sri Langka and Thailand were seriously hit by the catastrophe.

The ADB is also actively engaged with other countries that have been directly affected by the disaster, and has indicated that it stands ready to assist if requested to do so. 

(Xinhua News Agency March 11, 2005)