COLOMBO, Nov 5 (NNN-XINHUA) – The Sri Lankan government and the World Bank (WB), yesterday signed a 500-million-dollar financing agreement, to provide safe, efficient, and climate-resilient connectivity, to strengthen agricultural supply chains throughout the country, the World Bank said in a statement here.
This project is expected to benefit around 16 million people living in rural communities, in selected districts of Sri Lanka, as agriculture is the main livelihood source of the rural communities, the World Bank said.
“In Sri Lanka, agriculture – the main livelihood source of the rural community – is heavily dependent on roads to connect farmers to resources and domestic and international markets. While nearly all national roads are paved, only 67 percent of provincial roads and 13 percent of rural roads are in good condition. Sri Lanka also has the highest rate of road fatalities in the South Asia Region with around 3,000 deaths per year,” the statement added.
Hartwig Schafer, World Bank vice president for South Asia, said, an uninterrupted and safe road network in Sri Lanka was crucial, to connect rural communities to health and education services and economic opportunities.
Sri Lanka’s Minister of Highways, Johnston Fernando, said, the holistic approach to ensure safety, climate resilience and sustainability for Sri Lanka’s road network was critical for building back better post-pandemic.
Fernando added that the project is expected to build on the ongoing provincial and rural roads rehabilitation initiatives, under the World Bank-financed Transport Connectivity and Asset Management Project and the Asian Development Bank-funded Integrated Road Investment Programmes.– NNN-XINHUA
