ADB to expand road restoration project in North

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is to extend a road restoration project in the north to give more communities better access to social services and economic opportunities.

ADB's Board of Directors has approved financing of $98m to rehabilitate an additional 230 kilometres of national and provincial roads in the Northern Province and North Central Province. The upgrades come on top of the earlier restoration of more than 300 kilometres of roads in the two provinces.

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 Transport Specialist in ADB's South Asia Department, Chen Chen. "Faster connectivity to the south, including the capital Colombo, will cut travel costs and open new economic and employment opportunities."

A sharp economic rebound in the north, with 2010 growth at nearly 23 percent in the Northern Province and more than 20 percent in the North Central Province has been recorded since 2009. However, the two regions, each have about six percent 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 percent from the 2010 level.

Reducing long travel times spent on family tasks will free women to pursue more productive income-earning activities The project will also tap local labour for road works, including a target of at least 10 percent of jobs for road maintenance going to women.

The additional work will be financed by an ordinary capital resources loan of $30 m, a $68 m equivalent concessional Asian Development Fund loan, and surplus funds of $20 m earmarked for the original project, which was approved in 2010. There will also be technical assistance of $1 m to support road oversight agencies.

The extended project is set to be finished by the end of 2017.

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration.

Set up in 1966, it is owned by 67 members -- 48 from the region. In 2011, ADB approvals including co-financing totalled $21.7 b.