| Project Detail |
The Second Integrated Road Investment Program, a multitranche financing facility (MFF) for the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka approved on 29 September 2017, will improve access to the road network in Sri Lankas rural areas, supporting rural economic and social development. The investment program, in the amount if $900 million and with an availability period ending in March 2027, will upgrade and maintain about 3,400 kilometers (km) of rural access roads to an all-weather standard; rehabilitate and maintain about 340 km of national roads in Eastern, Northern, Uva, and Western provinces; and improve the capacity of road agencies with respect to road design and construction, research capacity, maintenance, safeguards, and road safety.
Project Name Second Integrated Road Investment Program-Tranche 4
Project Number 50301-005
Country / Economy Sri Lanka
Project Status Approved
Project Type / Modality of Assistance Loan
The Second Integrated Road Investment Program, a multitranche financing facility (MFF) for the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka approved on 29 September 2017, will improve access to the road network in Sri Lankas rural areas, supporting rural economic and social development. The investment program, in the amount if $900 million and with an availability period ending in March 2027, will upgrade and maintain about 3,400 kilometers (km) of rural access roads to an all-weather standard; rehabilitate and maintain about 340 km of national roads in Eastern, Northern, Uva, and Western provinces; and improve the capacity of road agencies with respect to road design and construction, research capacity, maintenance, safeguards, and road safety.
A periodic financing request for the fourth tranche was received on 20 September 2023. Tranche 4 is aligned with the road map in the FFA to establish 2,500 rural development centers by upgrading or rehabilitating rural access routes, including local authority, provincial, and national roads. The proposed tranche also aligns with the FFA policy framework by (i) adopting a two-tier strategy to provide nationwide connectivity by (a) establishing a trunk road network with expressways and well-connected national roads, and (b) completing a rural road network to connect the rural population to trunk roads efficiently; and (ii) establishing a project implementation framework for the RDA to improve provincial and local authority roads jointly with local road agencies to accelerate completion of the rural road network by supplementing the limited capacity of the local agencies. The proposed tranche also contributes to achieving the objectives of ADBs country partnership strategy (CPS) for Sri Lanka, 20182022, which aims to strengthen the drivers of economic growth and improve the quality of growth.
Project Rationale and Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy The Government of Sri Lanka plans to establish 2,500 rural development centers as rural economic market hubs. This will be achieved by (i) grouping many villages under identified potential development centers that have access to fully equipped rural economic market units, and (ii) by upgrading or rehabilitating rural access roads. Progress in improving provincial and local authority roads, however, has been relatively slow because of (i) competition for budget allocations, (ii) limited availability of sustainable raw materials, (iii) limited project implementation and maintenance capacity of road agencies, (iv) ad-hoc selection of provincial and local authority roads for improvement in the absence of clear criteria, and (v) insufficient community involvement in rural road development. The investment program will address these issues and improve the connectivity between priority rural development centers and surrounding villages.
Impact
Connectivity between rural communities and socioeconomic centers in Sri Lanka improved (Public Investment Programme, 2017-2020) |
