The Government has failed to utilize foreign funds granted for three Road development projects in the island.
The foreign loan funds obtained on road construction projects should be utilized within the relevant period of loan agreement thus completing the planned constructions.
As a sum of LKR 28,829.53 million from the loan funds obtained with respect to 03 projects had not been utilized within the period of agreement, those funds had to be returned to the institution that had provided the loan, a report by the Auditor General revealed.
As such, part of the constructions planned could not be completed, and commitment charges too had to be paid on the unutilized loan funds.
An exchange loss of LKR 9,527 million had been sustained as at 31 December 2019 on Phase III of the Outer Circular Expressway.
The loss represented 15 per cent of the sum that had been utilized being LKR 62,702 million.
This was attributable to the reasons such as, rapid devaluation of rupee against the dollar, unfavorable payment conditions in the contract agreements, delays in constructions.
Only 50 per cent of the entire loan had been utilized in the year 2019 – the year in which the loan agreement had become expired.
Meanwhile the Road Development Authority (RDA) has failed to take over some of the compensated land plots incurring heavy loss for the treasury, a recent report of the Auditor General divulged.
Once compensation is paid for the lands acquired for constructing roads, the ownership of such lands should be vested in the Road Development Authority in terms of Section 44 of the Land Ordinance, No. 13 of 1986.
Compensation totaling LKR 19,817.86 million had been paid by the RDA for the acquisition of 12,980 land plots relating to 05 road construction projects.
Only 412 plots of land therefrom had been registered under the RDA as at 31 December 2019.
Leave your comments
Login to post a comment
Post comment as a guest