10 January 2005
Compliance Review Panel has 14 days to prepare the Terms of Reference, methodology, and time frame of the review.
On January 10, the ADB Board of Directors authorized the compliance review of the Southern Transport Development Project (STDP) in Sri Lanka. This follows the Compliance Review Panel's (CRP) decision last December 17 declaring as eligible the request for compliance review filed by the Joint Organization of Affectees on Colombo-Matara Highway (JOACMH) regarding STDP. The CRP has 14 days to prepare and release the Terms of Reference and time frame that will indicate the methodology and estimated duration of the review.
Approved in 1999, the STDP involves the construction of a 128-km expressway linking Kottawa in the outskirts of Colombo with Matara in the South. Local groups are most concerned about the significant alteration of the original trace identified in the ADB-financed feasibility study, resulting in a host of problems.
CRP’s documentation on the STDP request (ADB website)
BIC's Web page on STDP