World Bank to fund road development

The World Bank (WB) will be providing US$105 mn to develop rural roads in the North, East, South and Uva provinces, said Infrastructure Specialist of WB, Amali Rajapakse.

The provincial Roads Project is a joint donor program by the WB, ADB and JICA.

US$ 20 mn has been allocated for the Northern province while the rest is to be financed for road improvement and maintenance in the Eastern and Uva provinces.

The project aims at improving around 100 km of provincial roads in the Northern province and other road infrastructure in selected areas of the Jaffna district.

The assistance will help restore connectivity between the severely damaged rural network and the main highways as well as access to socio economic services.

The project will also support the rehabilitation of 150 kms of roads in the Uva province and 100 kms in Ampara district , belonging to the Eastern province.

People in these areas depend on agriculture as a main source of income. Inadequate connectivity to markets prevents them from getting the best price for their products.

She said that the project has already commenced in the Uva province. It is planned that the entire network of provincial roads will be completed within the next 10 years which will help reduce poverty and improve the economic and infrastructure of the rural areas in the country. (SG)