The proposed technical assistance will prepare a strategy for the strategic development of the railway transport sector and the multimodal integration of railway transport with other modes of transport. Institutional reforms to improve efficiency within the sector will be studied and recommendations for improvements provided.
The proposed technical assistance is in line with the government's priority investment areas for projects and programs identified under the draft CPS for Sri Lanka, i.e., to upgrade and expand infrastructure by supporting strategic investments and policy reforms in key sectors such as transport, energy, and urban development. It will establish a strategy for the development of the railway sector and its integration into a multimodal transport system in Sri Lanka complementing road, air and sea transport: it will also develop a pipeline prioritizing strategic interventions in the railway sector for infrastructure development and capacity building.
Project Name | Railway Master Plan | ||||
Project Number | 51108-001 | ||||
Country | Sri Lanka |
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Project Status | Active | ||||
Project Type / Modality of Assistance | Technical Assistance |
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Source of Funding / Amount |
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Strategic Agendas | Inclusive economic growth |
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Drivers of Change | Governance and capacity development |
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Sector / Subsector | Transport / Transport policies and institutional development |
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Gender Equity and Mainstreaming | No gender elements | ||||
Description | The proposed technical assistance will prepare a strategy for the strategic development of the railway transport sector and the multimodal integration of railway transport with other modes of transport. Institutional reforms to improve efficiency within the sector will be studied and recommendations for improvements provided. The proposed technical assistance is in line with the government's priority investment areas for projects and programs identified under the draft CPS for Sri Lanka, i.e., to upgrade and expand infrastructure by supporting strategic investments and policy reforms in key sectors such as transport, energy, and urban development. It will establish a strategy for the development of the railway sector and its integration into a multimodal transport system in Sri Lanka complementing road, air and sea transport: it will also develop a pipeline prioritizing strategic interventions in the railway sector for infrastructure development and capacity building. The proposed TA is ADB's first sector-wide intervention in the Sri Lanka rail transport sector and will pave the way for a coordinated approach into sector development by ADB and development partners. This will supplement prior and ongoing investments in the road sector in rural roads, national roads and expressways as well as investments in the maritime sector, i.e., in the Colombo Port Project. The proposed TA is timely, as ADB is in parallel supporting the preparation of the National Port Master Plan for Sri Lanka and the upgrade of the Road Sector Master Plan. The impact of the proposed TA will be mobility through a safe and affordable integrated public land transport system with wide multimodal mix and technological innovation provided. The outcome of the proposed TA will be a strategy for the development of the railway sector established. The main output of the TA will be the Railway Master Plan prepared. |
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Project Rationale and Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy | Transport in Sri Lanka is based mainly on the road network which is centered on the capital and commercial hub Colombo. Road transport accounts for about 93% of the land transport in Sri Lanka. There are 12,000 kilometers (km) of national highways and 152 km of expressways. Buses are the principal mode of public transport. Bus services are provided by the state-run Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) and by privately-run buses. SLTB serves both urban and rural routes, which are often unprofitable. The railway network only handles a small fraction of the country's transport needs. Rail transport in Sri Lanka consists of a heavy-rail intercity network connecting the main cities of all nine provinces in the country with Colombo, and commuter rail services in Colombo and the Western Province. Sri Lanka has four deep-sea ports including Colombo Port, a major transshipment port in South Asia, and two international airports located in Colombo and in Hambantota in the south. Sri Lanka Railway Department under the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, branded as Sri Lanka Railways (SLR), is the owner and primary operator with a history that begins in 1858. At its peak during the first half of the 20th century, it shouldered to over 80% of the total freight transport market, while its share of passenger market was over 35%. Successive governments took steps to develop the railway transportation; but most of the efforts were mainly on running the rail network at basic levels. Wide-spread expansion of the road network, the gradual advancement of road-based motorized transportation, the relative policy neglect of the railway system, and also the bureaucratic and non-commercial nature of the management system contributed to this stagnation, resulting to the weakening performance of SLR. This has led to erosion of its market share: nowadays less than 1% of the freight market and about 5% of the passenger market is catered to by the SLR. Presently, the railway network consists of 1,508 km with 1,676 millimeters broad gauge. SLR operates approximately 396 trains which include 67 long-distance and 16 intercity trains. The railway network centered in Colombo and the Western Province with a population of 5.8 million (29% of the country). Western provincial share of the national gross domestic product (GDP) is around 43% and has recorded the highest per capita income of $2,922 in 2012. Almost 90% of the railway network of the country is single track, with 126 km of double tracks, 14 km of three tracks and 3 km of four tracks. All multiple lines are located in the Western Province. The suburban network in the Western Province totals around 230 km and carries more than 80% of SLR's passengers. The railway network includes a link to Colombo Port, the main seaport. The Government of Sri Lanka's strategy for the public transport and railway sector outlined in the Public Investment Programme (PIP) 2017-2020 is to meet the present and future passenger and goods transport demand by ensuring quality, safety and affordability with the widest possible mode mix and technological innovations in order to provide mobility requirement. The PIP intends to (i) increase the share of railway passenger transport from 5% in 2015 to 10% by 2020; (ii) increase the share of railway freight transport from 1% to 5% by 2020; and (iii) increase the share of public transport passenger movement in Sri Lanka from the present level of 58% to 65% by 2020. The government intends to achieve the targets set out in the PIP by improving the railway system in both institutional and management areas, harmonize land use planning with infrastructure development, improve multimodal integration, etc. |
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Impact | Mobility through a safe and affordable integrated public land transport system with wide multimodal mix and technological innovation provided. |
Project Outcome | |
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Description of Outcome | Strategy for the development of the railway sector established |
Progress Toward Outcome | |
Implementation Progress | |
Description of Project Outputs | Railway master plan prepared |
Status of Implementation Progress (Outputs, Activities, and Issues) | |
Geographical Location | Nation-wide |
Summary of Environmental and Social Aspects | |
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Environmental Aspects | |
Involuntary Resettlement | |
Indigenous Peoples | |
Stakeholder Communication, Participation, and Consultation | |
During Project Design | Stakeholder participation through consultation workshops will be held for the study that will support the preparation of the railway master plan (2020-2040). |
During Project Implementation | Consulting services commenced in April 2018. |
Business Opportunities | |
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Consulting Services | The consulting services will be completed in 20 months, from April 2018 to December 2020. A firm of consultants has been engaged in accordance with ADB's Guidelines on the Use of Consultants (2013, as amended from time to time). The consultants were selected using ADB's quality- and cost-based selection method with a quality-cost ratio of 90:10. The consultants prepared a full technical proposal. |
Procurement | - |
Responsible ADB Officer | Rowan Marcus, Kirsty |
Responsible ADB Department | South Asia Department |
Responsible ADB Division | Transport and Communications Division, SARD |
Timetable | |
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Concept Clearance | 04 Apr 2017 |
Fact Finding | 05 Jul 2017 to 07 Jul 2017 |
MRM | - |
Approval | 19 Sep 2017 |
Last Review Mission | - |
Last PDS Update | 25 Nov 2020 |
TA 9382-SRI
Milestones | |||||
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Approval | Signing Date | Effectivity Date | Closing | ||
Original | Revised | Actual | |||
19 Sep 2017 | 27 Oct 2017 | 27 Oct 2017 | 30 Jun 2020 | 06 Jun 2021 | - |
Financing Plan/TA Utilization | Cumulative Disbursements | |||||||
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ADB | Cofinancing | Counterpart | Total | Date | Amount | |||
Gov | Beneficiaries | Project Sponsor | Others | |||||
1,500,000.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1,500,000.00 | 19 Sep 2017 | 1,056,555.63 |
Project Data Sheets (PDS) contain summary information on the project or program. Because the PDS is a work in progress, some information may not be included in its initial version but will be added as it becomes available. Information about proposed projects is tentative and indicative.
The Access to Information Policy (AIP) recognizes that transparency and accountability are essential to development effectiveness. It establishes the disclosure requirements for documents and information ADB produces or requires to be produced.
The Accountability Mechanism provides a forum where people adversely affected by ADB-assisted projects can voice and seek solutions to their problems and report alleged noncompliance of ADB's operational policies and procedures.
In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of, or reference to, a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area.
Title | Document Type | Document Date |
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Railway Master Plan: Project Data Sheet (Tamil Translation) | Translated PDS | Sep 2017 |
Railway Master Plan: Technical Assistance Report | Technical Assistance Reports | Sep 2017 |
Sri Lanka Railway Master Plan: Project Data Sheet (Sinhala Translation) | Translated PDS | Mar 2017 |
Safeguard Documents See also: Safeguards
Safeguard documents provided at the time of project/facility approval may also be found in the list of linked documents provided with the Report and Recommendation of the President.
None currently available.
Evaluation Documents See also: Independent Evaluation
None currently available.
Related Publications
None currently available.
The Access to Information Policy (AIP) establishes the disclosure requirements for documents and information ADB produces or requires to be produced in its operations to facilitate stakeholder participation in ADB's decision-making. For more information, refer to the Safeguard Policy Statement, Operations Manual F1, and Operations Manual L3.
Requests for information may also be directed to the InfoUnit.
Tenders
Tender Title | Type | Status | Posting Date | Deadline |
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Sri Lanka Railway Master Plan | Firm - Consulting | Closed | 11 Jul 2017 | 09 Aug 2017 |
Contracts Awarded
Contract Title | Approval Number | Contract Date | Contractor | Contractor Address | Executing Agency | Contract Description | Total Contract Amount (US$) | Contract Amount Financed by ADB (US$) |
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Policy and Advisory | Technical Assistance 9382 | 14 Mar 2018 | PADECO CO. LTD.(JAPAN) in association with Resources Development Consultants Ltd.() | SHIN-ONARIMON BLDG., 6-17-19 SHINBASHI MINATO-KU, TOKYO 105-0004 JAPAN | *** No Executing Agency for this TA *** | Consulting Services | 1,491,810.00 | — |
Procurement Plan
None currently available.