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Cyclone Ditwah cause Rs.190 billion damage to highways
- The rough estimate of the damage to the highway network stood at Rs,190 billion at the moment. However, he said there was no major damage to the expressways this time
Colombo, Dec. 4 (Daily Mirror) - Sri Lanka’s highway network has sustained damages roughly estimated at a staggering Rs.190 billion following the recent weather-induced disasters such as floods, earth-slips and landslides, an official said.
Cyclone Ditwah brought torrential downpours that triggered floods, riverine floods, earth-slips and landslides across the country. The entire district was affected, more or less, killing nearly 500 people and affecting well over 1.5 million.
Director General of the Road Development Authority (RDA) Wimal Kandambi told Daily Mirror that the rough estimate of the damage to the highway network stood at Rs,190 billion at the moment. However, he said there was no major damage to the expressways this time.
During the disaster, the entire Kandy district remained cut off from the rest of the country with all the highways linking the city with other areas being damaged.
The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) is currently in the process of assessing the damage to transmission lines and grid stations. The country’s irrigation system has also sustained massive damages.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has secured Cabinet approval for the establishment of the ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund as a statutory mechanism under the Presidential Secretariat to finance the country’s medium- and long-term recovery from Cyclone Ditwah.
A public–private Management Committee has been appointed to oversee the mobilisation and allocation of resources for reconstruction.
The newly appointed Management Committee will be chaired by Labour Minister and Finance and Planning Deputy Minister Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando, with Senior Additional Secretary to the President G.M.R.D. Aponsu serving as Convenor.
The government has begun discussions with the World Bank to prepare a detailed assessment of the damage across sectors and the financial requirements for reconstruction, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said.
The World Bank will also conduct the Global Rapid Post-Disaster Damage Estimation (GRADE). The government expects to receive the GRADE assessment within approximately two weeks.
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