US $ 53mn sought from ADB to make roads accessible

The government is seeking US $ 53 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to minimise the disruptions to the public due to the stalled road development projects, after the country defaulted on its external debt.
Cabinet Spokesperson and Transport, Highways and Mass Media Minister Bandula Gunawardena yesterday acknowledged that some of the roads have become completely inaccessible to commuters, as the construction halted halfway, causing great inconvenience to commuters.

Gunawardena had taken the ADB officials on field visits, in order to show them the status of several construction sites and the inconvenience caused to commuters.
“I have requested US $ 53 million from the ADB to bring these construction sites to accessible levels to the commuters,” 
he said.
In addition, he noted that the government is also in discussions with the Hungarian government to secure funds to complete the construction of the Gatambe and Kohuwala flyovers.
However, he noted that many bilateral and multilateral creditors are reluctant to end the funding freeze until the debt restructuring process is completed.