The government is rolling out a series of rural road development and electrification projects as it starts spending the lquote peace dividends, of a 19-month ceasefire.rnrn
rnAn accelerated development programme is being rolled out at a cost of Rs. 17.4 bn over an 18-month period to take roads and electricity to parts of rural Sri Lanka.rn
rnMost of the funds have been pledged by China, Sweden and Kuwait, with the Treasury pitching in with counterpart funding of Rs. 2 mn for each electorate, Enterprise Development Minister, Professor G.L. Peiris said Tuesday.rn
rnPart funding will also come from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the largest lender to Sri Lankas road sector.rn
rnldblquote The new rural road project will complement work already being undertaken with the assistance of the donor community dblquote , Peiris said.rn
rnldblquote A good deal of the funding for this project is from foreign sources, though there is the requirement of counterpart funding from the government dblquote .r