“We faced daunting challenges to build this road”

The 27 km road from Kekirawa to Talawa was developed and carpeted and opened to the public yesterday under the Integrated Road Investment (i Road) project by Transport, Highways and Mass Media Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardhana.

This two-lane road has been developed by using carpet at a cost of Rs. 2422 million under the loan assistance of the Asian Development Bank.

A public meeting was held in Eppawala town after the commemorative plaque was unveiled at Talawa junction by the Minister.

The Minister addressing the gathering said if the loan amount of Rs. 2,500 million had not been received from the ADB, the Talawa–Kekirawa road would not have been developed and opened.

“The entire region has benefited substantially from this road. We had to face a lot of challenges while implementing such a huge project. We should pay our respects to all those who contributed to the completion of this project by bearing all of the challenges,” he said.

“The Government does not have the financial strength to start or invest in any new project in the country in the current situation. Our country has taken a large amount of loans for various needs throughout history. We had to take a large amount of loans for the war that lasted for more than 30 years. After the end of the war, the Government also had to borrow to restore the destruction caused by it. Most of the development and rehabilitation, including this road development, were done with loans from foreign countries and organizations including the Asian Development Bank. Only recurrent expenditure and payment of salaries and pensions can be done with the tax money collected from the people,” the Minister said.

“When the loans and aid provided by various international organizations were not enough for the country, the Government took loans by issuing sovereign bonds to the international market. In this way, the former Government alone has obtained more than US$ 12 billion in loans by issuing sovereign bonds. But as a nation our foreign assets amount to US$ 3.5 billion only. Due to the Easter attacks and the subsequent Covid pandemic, the foreign exchange that flowed into the country in various ways was blocked. As a result of all this, the country has finally reached a situation where it cannot pay back the loans taken. There is no political solution to this situation, which is the result of a long-term process,” he said.

“A country cannot run for a month without dealing with international organizations including the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Therefore, the Government is working together with friendly countries, international organizations, and consulting companies to find a solution to this situation. Thus, even if the debt is restructured, the payments for these loans should continue to be made until 2048. Therefore, whoever wants to rule the country during that time, it is imperative that they have a specific plan for paying this debt,” the Minister said.

“Therefore, in order to rise again as a country, we all must contribute to re-stabilizing the country together. We must become a nation that is used to thinking anew,” he said.

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