President says road works hit by tar shortage amid Middle East conflict

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake says some road construction projects in Sri Lanka have been delayed due to difficulties in importing the type of bitumen (tar) used for local roads from the Middle East amid the ongoing conflict in the region.

Speaking at a rally in Anuradhapura on Sunday (13), the President said the Government had allocated funds for the construction of smaller roads, but shortages of bitumen had affected the implementation of some projects.

“We have allocated money to build small roads. But a small problem has arisen. Because of the war in the Middle East, the type of bitumen we use comes from that region,” he said.

The President said alternative types of bitumen were not considered suitable for Sri Lanka’s climate and environmental conditions.

“As a result, we have faced difficulties in bringing in the bitumen we need from the Middle East. In some cases, work on roads for which estimates have already been prepared has had to be delayed to some extent because there is no bitumen,” he said.

President Dissanayake said the issue was not one faced by Sri Lanka alone, describing it as an international problem linked to the conflict in the Middle East. (Newswire)

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