Preparing the Railway Sector Improvement Project (ADB-59161-001)

Regions
  • South Asia
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Sri Lanka
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Colombo
Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.
Financial Institutions
  • Asian Development Bank (ADB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
U
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Nov 24, 2025
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Government of Sri Lanka - Ministry of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Infrastructure
  • Technical Cooperation
  • Transport
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Grant
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 1.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 1.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ ADB website

Updated in EWS Apr 10, 2026

Disclosed by Bank Nov 27, 2025

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the proposed TA will provide continuous support to Sri Lanka's railway sector and augment ADB's ongoing loan Railway Efficiency Improvement Project and its attached TA. It will develop a staged investment road map to modernize and enhance the efficiency of the railway subsector of the Colombo suburban area, with particular focus on ADB's potential project lending pipeline. The TA will include preparatory consultancy activities for (i) rehabilitation projects and programs for railway infrastructure, (ii) rationalization of existing railway infrastructure and rolling stock fleet assets, (iii) operationalization of the central train control center in Sri Lanka Railways' (SLR) new operations headquarters and train control center (financed under the ongoing loan), and (iv) design of staged, long-term investment, and modernization programs. These interventions will increase rail traffic throughput , strengthen operational efficiency and safety, and enhance the overall attractiveness of the railway services along the Colombo suburban railway network. The TA will improve operational safety and public transport services along the main traffic corridor of the suburban rail network system, and contribute to improving the operational and financial performance, and sustainability of SLR. The TA will ensure that the environmental, social, and climate change considerations are fully integrated in preparatory work, consistent with ADB's Safeguard Policy Statement (2009) and in anticipation of the Environmental and Social Framework (2024).

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

According to the Technical Assistance Report, the Risk Categories are:

Environment: Not Applicable
Involuntary Resettlement: Not Applicable
Indigenous Peoples: Not Applicable

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

The TA financing amount is $1,000,000, which will be financed on a grant basis by ADB’s Technical Assistance Special Fund (TASF-other sources).

The government will provide counterpart support in the form of counterpart staff, office space, existing project data, other available project-related information, and other in-kind contributions.


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

No contacts available at the time of disclosure.

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.adb.org/forms/request-information-form

ADB has a two-stage appeals process for requesters who believe that ADB has denied their request for information in violation of its Access to Information Policy. You can learn more about filing an appeal at: https://www.adb.org/site/disclosure/appeals

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF ADB

The Accountability Mechanism is an independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an Asian Development Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Accountability Mechanism, they may investigate to assess whether the Asian Development Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can learn more about the Accountability Mechanism and how to file a complaint at: http://www.adb.org/site/accountability-mechanism/main.

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How it works