Funding programme for Sri Lankan rural roads

A new funding package has been agreed to help pay for Sri Lanka’s rural road development programme. An agreement has been signed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Sri Lankan Government. In all, 3,400km of rural roads will be upgraded. In addition, the programme will deliver 340km of work on national highways. The work forms part of Sri Lanka’s Second Integrated Road Investment Programme. Both capacity upgrades and safety measures will be carried out to the network under the plan. The ADB will supply a total of US$900 million for the Second Integrated Road Investment Programme, with the first funding payment worth $150 million. In all, the Second Integrated Road Investment Programme has a projected cost of $1.08 billion.