ADB ‘top class’ stretch of Southern Highway handed over

• Five-year strategy under discussion with Govt., more infrastructure funding in pipeline

By Uditha Jayasinghe

ADB Country Director Dr. Richard Vokes yesterday handed over the Southern Highway stretch funded by his organisation to the Road Development Authority (RDA).

This was a soft handing over given that Dr. Vokes is ending his tenure as the Country Director of Sri Lanka.

The ceremony was initially tagged to happen earlier but with delays it was decided that the handing over would happen before the entire project would be completed, which is expected to happen around August 2011.

Speaking at the occasion, Dr. Vokes pointed out that this was a historical moment for Sri Lanka since highways would be crucial for the economic growth of Sri Lanka, particularly in tourism.

“Ideally there should be a network of highways connecting all parts of the country. This would improve investment and bring economic growth to all parts of the country.”

Responding to questions on his sentiments about the highway, Dr. Vokes termed it as “top class” and advocated that the maintenance should also be of the same standard.

“The most significant thing is that the Government should now maintain this highway. This is not a sporadic thing, but something that must happen on a daily basis. If a truck drops something on the highway that can lead to an accident; so constant monitoring is going to be needed. I believe that the Government has already considered this and is appointing a Highways Committee to deal with all the maintenance but that should be the top priority.”

Linkage roads to the Southern Highway is next on the agenda with the project tagged for completion by end July. The ADB is also having discussions with the Government on what projects would be included in the ‘Country Partnership Strategy 2012-2016’.

This year the ADB will be funding US$ 314 million worth of projects countrywide including a power plant and road construction.

Dr. Vokes remarked that the ADB will continue to focus on infrastructure, particularly roads, in the next strategy as well but that the funding would probably become less once the Colombo South Harbour Project is completed.

Responding to a question on ADB’s involvement on the Colombo-Kandy highway the Country Director commented that the topic had not come up and in the short term as such a project might not be feasible since it would involve massive relocation and extra expense.

“Overall the projects will be focused on gender equity, inclusive and sustainable development, regional integration and environmental concerns.”