Sri Lanka signs up first tranche of US$100mn to upgrade roads

Nov 07, 2014 (LBO) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed first tranche loan agreement with the Sri Lanka government to lend 800 million dollars to upgrade roads. The first tranche in an amount of 100 million US dollars with the 18 million US dollars of government's investment will finance the first slice of the project in Southern Province in order to improve and maintain 560 km of rural access roads and 130km of national roads, build capacity of implementing agencies in Southern Province and prepare projects for subsequent tranches.

The Ministry of Highways, Ports and Shipping will be the executing agency for the project apart from being responsible for program specific monitoring and reporting. The implementing agency will be the RDA. The overall project is scheduled to be completed by 30 March 2024. Providing all-weather road access to towns and villages in rural areas will bring greater development that will underpin stronger economic growth in Sri Lanka in the coming years and decades, said Sri Widowati, Country Director of ADB to Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is to upgrade and maintain roads in Sabaragamuwa Province and Kalutara District, Central Provi