ADB funds for Northern road restoration project
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is to extend a road restoration
project in the North of Sri Lanka to give more communities from the once
conflict-ridden region better access to social services and economic
opportunities.
ADB’s Board of Directors has approved financing of $98 million to
rehabilitate an additional 230 kilometers of national and provincial
roads in Northern Province and North Central Province. The upgrades come
on top of the earlier restoration of more than 300 kilometers of roads
in the two provinces, which were badly affected by three decades of
conflict and neglect. Around 1.86 million people living in five
districts are expected to benefit from the overall expanded project.
“The additional road upgrades will give distant communities easier
access to services, including schools, health clinics, and markets,”
said Chen Chen, Transport Specialist in ADB’s South Asia Department.
“Faster connectivity to the south, including the capital Colombo, will
cut travel costs and open up new economic and employment opportunities.”
The end of the civil conflict in 2009 has coincided with a sharp
economic rebound in the north, with 2010 growth at nearly 23% in
Northern Province and more than 20% in North Central Province. However,
the two regions, which each have about 6% of the total population,
contribute only a small share of the country’s total gross domestic
product and many remote communities are still missing out on the
benefits of the economic expansion. Improvements to northern
infrastructure are a key part of the government’s national strategy for
inclusive growth.
The project goal is to reduce travel time on project roads in the two
provinces by an average of 20% from the 2010 level. Reducing long travel
times spent on family tasks will free women up to pursue more productive
income-earning activities The project will also tap local labor for road
works, including a target of at least 10% of jobs for road maintenance
going to women..
the additional work will be financed by an ordinary capital resources
loan of $30 million, a $68 million equivalent concessional Asian
Development Fund loan, and surplus funds of $20 million earmarked for
the original project, which was approved in 2010. There will also be
further technical assistance of $1 million to support road oversight
agencies. The extended project is set to be finished by the end of 2017.
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