A performance audit conducted by the National Audit Office (NAO) for 2023 has raised serious concerns about the progress and financial management of rural infrastructure projects, specifically the construction of rural bridges across Sri Lanka.
The findings reveal large-scale delays, project terminations, and questionable financial practices that have hindered the intended benefits of rural connectivity and development.
According to the NAO report, contracts were awarded in 2021 for the construction of 466 bridges in rural areas across the island. However, by 30 June 2023, only 84 bridges had been completed. The audit found that contracts relating to 271 bridges had been cancelled, which accounts for 58% of the total bridge projects initially awarded.
More alarmingly, the audit report highlights that despite the termination of these contracts, the Government had already disbursed a substantial sum of Rs. 333 million to contractors associated with 97 of the cancelled projects.
The reasons for these advance or interim payments remain unclear, especially given the absence of completed work on a significant number of bridges. This has raised questions about financial accountability and the monitoring of project progress.
The audit also noted that only 111 bridge projects remained functional as of mid-2023. However, even among these, 60 bridges had reported physical progress of less than 50%, indicating severe delays in construction. The remaining 51 bridges had progress levels ranging from 51% to full completion.
These findings suggest that the intended outcomes of the rural bridge initiative – improving transport access and connectivity in underserved areas – remain largely unfulfilled.
Transport Ministry response
In response to the audit findings, the Ministry of Transport and Highways had shared an image of the response submitted containing an explanation attributing the underperformance to the economic crisis that intensified in 2022.
The ministry had noted that the prevailing financial difficulties, import restrictions, shortage of fuel, and rising material costs had made it impossible for contractors to carry out construction work as scheduled, leading many contractors to abandon the projects without prior notice.
The ministry had stated that the construction of 110 bridges had been scheduled to commence in March 2022, but due to the economic downturn, several contractors had ceased operations unilaterally.
As a result, the ministry had been forced to terminate 10 contracts and reassign 42 of these bridge projects to nine new contractors. The ministry had reported that these reassigned projects had shown improvement and were now progressing under better oversight.
By December 2024, the ministry had reported that the overall physical progress of these 110 bridges was approximately 75%. It had expressed confidence that 52 of these bridges would be completed by 2025, marking a partial recovery from the earlier setbacks.
Despite these assurances, the NAO’s findings underscore the urgent need for improved project planning, contractor vetting, and financial controls to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
Ball passing by ministry officials
Efforts by The Sunday Morning to obtain an official comment on the audit findings were met with a noticeable lack of clarity and coordination among relevant authorities.
Reaching out to the Road Development Authority (RDA) initially led to a referral maze. RDA Chairman T. Paskaran, after a prolonged delay, redirected inquiries to the Deputy Director General of Corporate Finance, citing a lack of relevant information. The latter, in turn, asserted that the construction of rural bridges did not fall within the RDA’s jurisdiction.
When contacted for clarification, RDA Director General Priyantha Suriyabandara declined to comment altogether, citing ongoing legal complications related to the matter.
Attempts to secure comments from the Ministry of Transport and Highways similarly yielded limited success. Repeated calls to Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports, and Civil Aviation Bimal Rathnayake went unanswered.
Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways Prasanna Gunasena did respond briefly, but excused himself, stating he was unwell. Ministry of Transport Secretary Prof. Kapila Perera remained unreachable despite multiple attempts.
Amidst the bureaucratic silence, Public Relations Officer of the Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports, and Civil Aviation Damian Weerakkody extended considerable assistance by connecting the writer to officials in a position to respond.
This eventually led to Jeewananda, the Additional Secretary in charge of rural bridges. He acknowledged that he was relatively new to the position and would require time to gather accurate information.
While he shared an extract of the ministry’s official response, he later became unavailable, citing the need to collect further details – a promise that, at the time of publication, remained unfulfilled.