ADB Vice President to attend Southern Expressway opening

Asian Development Bank (ADB) Vice President Xiaoyu Zhao will visit Sri Lanka to attend the opening of the ADB-funded Southern Expressway tomorrow.

Zhao will be accompanied by ADB’s Director General of South Asia Department Sultan Hafeez Rahman and senior officials.

ADB’s involvement with the Southern Expressway spans well over 10 years. In 1999 ADB approved a $90 million loan from its Asian Development Fund (ADF)   to cover the construction of a two-lane access control highway from Kurundugahahethekma to Godagama, with the provision for later expansion into a six-lane expressway.

In 2008, ADB provided a supplementary loan of $ 90 million, to accommodate the expansion from a two-lane highway to a four-lane expressway.

ADB has worked in close cooperation with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on the project, which financed the section of the expressway from Kottawa to Kurundugahahethekma.  The expressway is the main component of the Southern Transport Development Project (STDP) which is divided into two sections for financing purposes, under JICA and ADB respectively.  ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members – 48 from the region. In 2010, ADB approvals, including, co-financing, totalled $17.51 billion. In addition, ADB’s ongoing Trade Finance Programme supported $ 2.8 billion in trade.