The World Bank has approved a $125 million credit to help Sri Lanka establish its first public-private-partnership (PPP) to help better maintain the country’s roads, reduce long-term costs, and improve the performance of the Road Development Authority (RDA).

    Moving away from the conventional way that civil works contracts have been done, this new approach is expected to bring significant benefits in terms of reducing costs by up to 25 percent, better use of public resources, and more predictability in government expenditures, World bank press release said.

    "This project will support to create a model that will help improve the quality and maintenance of Sri Lanka’s roads, and will reduce costs in terms of maintenance and vehicle wear," said Francoise Clottes, World Bank Country Director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives. "We hope the project can be a model for the Road Development Authority to emulate across the country to maximize quality and minimize costs across Sri Lanka." The credit for this project is provided by the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s grant and low interest arm, with a maturity of 25 years that includes a grace period of 5 years.

    The project also supports a program that is being financed with the Asian Development Bank. (ADB). The Road Development Authority is the lead responsible agency for the implementation of this project.