Sri Lanka Inclusive Tender

Project ID P176164Region south asiaCommitment Amount Us 500.00 millionTotal Project Cost Us 500.00 millionThis projectaims at improving rural connectivity and economic opportunities for the rural population with a focus on road network and agriculture logistics. Rural connectivitywill be improved through a nationwide rural road improvementprogram in support of rural transportation efficiency safetyand accessibility to economic and social amenitiesincluding markets education health and government services. The program will entail road rehabilitation including performance-based road maintenance the implementation of which -particularly road maintenance -would be designed to promote rural entrepreneurship. As a direct contribution to rural economic opportunities and enhanced inclusivity the rural roads program will be augmented by provision ofagriculture logisticssuchas aggregation community infrastructure intended to supply chain marketing and storage facilities. Other amenities aimed at bettergender equality and empowerment and reduction of rural-urban gap such as health education women entrepreneurshipand youth development programswould be included. The success and sustainability of the program is to be underpinned by strong institutional capacity enhancements in theroads sector that would include sectoral capacity reviews sectoral operational performance support and project implementation support. 17.The project will be implemented in two phases an initial quick-wins phase in the first year focusing on improvement of priority rural road accessibility in selected provinces and the initial institutional support activities such as technical assistances on data inventory evidence-based analysis green infrastructure guidelines etc.This will be followed by a more comprehensive program in the second phase that would comprise the rural road improvement program improvement of agro-logistics and community development infrastructureimplementation ofcommunity development initiatives and otherinstitutionalenhancements.18.Component 1 Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Enhancements US25 millionThis component will support the development of a comprehensive digital tool to systematically prioritize and select provincial and rural road networks for rehabilitation and improvement in a way that will optimize economic and social benefits of the investments. The tool will link with existing road asset management systems and practices in the country. It will be GIS-based with layers of digital information on the road network such as traffic volumes rural population distribution connectivity with the national road networks accessibility to agriculture value chains climate and disaster vulnerabilities connectivity to employment and economic centers schools hospitals public institutions and othe