Who we are
The Road Development Authority (RDA), incorporated as a statutory body under the Ministry of Highways by the RDA Act No.73 of 1981, became successor to the Department of Highways in 1986. Since then, the RDA has become responsible for the maintenance and upgrading of the National Highway Network. Road Development Authority is one of the institutions under the Ministry of Highways which is the apex organization in Sri Lanka for the highways sector.
The National Road Network consists of 12,255.41km of trunk (A class) and main (B class) roads and 312.59 km of expressways, and about 4,270 bridges as of the end of 2023. Road Development Authority is responsible for the maintenance and development of the National Road Network and planning, design, and construction of new highways, bridges, and expressways to augment the existing road network.
Our Vision
“Empowering Connectivity, Driving Prosperity Sustainably: A Future-Ready Sri Lanka Connected by World-Class Roads.”
Our Mission
“As the premier national organization of the road sector, to provide an adequate and efficient network of national highways, to ensure mobility and accessibility at an acceptable level of safety and comfort, in a sustainable and climate resilient manner, for the movement of people and goods paving way for the socio- economic development of the nation.”
Our Values
- Total Quality Management (TQM)
- Service to the Nation
- Efficiency and Effectiveness
- Innovation
- Sustainability
- Safety and Comfort
- Commitment
- Professionalism
Our Goals
- Ensure the national road network is well-maintained to provide safe and convenient travel for all users.
- Widen and improve the national road network to accommodate increasing traffic demands and enhance overall capacity.
- Strengthen connectivity between major cities and economic hubs by developing and upgrading expressways.
- Maintain bridges to guarantee their safety and functionality throughout their lifespan.
- Enhance the RDA's capacity to effectively meet the evolving needs of Sri Lanka's road sector.
Organizational Structure
The RDA is a major civil engineering organization with specialized skills in highway and bridge planning, design, construction, maintenance and road safety. The organizational structure is designed to carry out the functions assigned to the RDA and to achieve its goals and objectives.
The RDA operates under the Board of Management and has the Director General as the Chief Executive Officer. The Director General is assisted by 6 Additional Director Generals (ADG) and 25 Deputy Director Generals (DDG).
In addition, there are 13 Project Management Units headed by Project Directors under the Ministry of Transport & Highways and are appended to the RDA through the Director General.
Functional Divisions
The Directors of all the Divisions are directly reporting to Additional Director Generals / the Director General / the Chairman as described below.
- The Deputy Director General - Internal Audit is directly reporting to the Chairman.
- The Deputy Director General/ Legal and the Deputy Director General - Quality Assurance & Performance Auditing are directly report to the Director General.
The Deputy Director Generals of Following two Divisions are directly report to the Additional Director General – Human Resources.
- Human Resource Development Division
- Human Resource Management & Administration Division
The Deputy Director Generals of Following two Divisions are directly report to the Additional Director General – Finance & Property Management.
- Corporate Finance Division
- Operational Finance Division
The Deputy Director Generals of the following six Divisions are directly report to the Additional Director General – Construction, Asset Operation & Maintenance.
- Construction Division
- Road Maintenance & Management Division
- Procurement Management Division
- Bridge Maintenance & Rural Bridge Construction Division
- Mechanical Division
- Special Projects Division
The Deputy Director Generals of the following three Divisions are directly report to the Additional Director General – Expressway Management & Projects.
- Expressway Operation, Maintenance & Management Division
- Expressway Asset Upgrading & Improvement Division
- Contract Administration and Management Division
The Deputy Director Generals of the following five Divisions are directly report to the Additional Director General – Network Planning & Assets Management.
- Corporate Strategic Planning Division
- Infrastructure, Road Safety and Traffic Management Division
- Information Systems & Network Management Division
- Road Asset Management Division
- Environmental & Social Development Division
The Deputy Director Generals of the following four Divisions are directly report to the Additional Director General – Engineering Services.
- Structural Designs Division
- Highway Designs Division
- Land Management Division
- Research and Development Division
Project Management Units
Almost all foreign-funded projects are handled by Project Management Units (PMUs), and PMUs are function as independent units under the Ministry of Highways. In 2023, Projects Management Units were in operation for the following projects;
- Central Expressway Project Section 1 (CEP 1)
- Central Expressway Project Section 3 (CEP 3)
- Port Access Elevated Highway Project (PAEHP)
- Miscellaneous Foreign Aided Project (MFAP)
- Special Project Management Unit (SPMU)
- Transport Connectivity and Asset Management Project (TCAMP)
- Badulla - Chenkaladi Road Improvement Project (BCRIP)
- China Exim Bank (Hunan branch) Funded Project
- Integrated Road Investment Programme (i-Road) Project (I& II)
- Kandy Tunnel Construction Project
- Inclusive Connectivity and Development Project (ICDP)
- Kandy multimode transport terminal project (KMTTP)
- Local Bank Funded & Rural Road Project (LBFP)
These PMUs maintain independent accounting units which are responsible to the Ministry of Transport and Highways and the RDA. At the RDA level, the activities of all PMUs are coordinated by the Additional Director General (Expressway Management & Projects)) except the Local Bank Funded & Rural Road Project which comes under Additional Director General (Construction, Assets Operation & Maintenance).
Provincial Setup
Under the provincial setup of the RDA, 9 Provincial Directors and 1 Additional Provincial Director are reporting to the Director of Maintenance Management. As the Eastern Province has been divided into two regions, there are two Provincial Directors in that Province, one in Batticaloa and the other in Akkaraipattu. Under each Provincial Director, there is a Chief Engineer (CE) for each region and an Executive Engineer (EE) for each division as shown in the table below. The Provincial Directors, Chief Engineers, and Executive Engineers are supported by several other Engineers and technical staff, appointed based on the lengths of the A and B class road network within the division.
Provincial Setup of RDA
| Province | CE Region | EE Divisions |
| Central Province | Kandy Nuwara Eliya Matale |
Kandy, Kundasale, Kadugannawa, Gampola Nuwara Eliya, Norwood, Hanguranketha Matale, Nalanda |
| Eastern Province | Batticaloa Trincomalee |
Batticaloa Trincomalee |
| Eastern Province (Akkaraipattu) |
Ampara Akkaraipattu |
Ampara, Dehiaattakandiya Akkaraipattu, Kalmunai |
| North Central Province | Anuradhapura Polonanaruwa |
Anuradhapura, Medawachchiya, Maradankadawala Polonanaruwa, Habarana |
| North Western Province | Kurunegala Chillaw |
Kurunegala, Kuliyapitiya, Maho Chillaw, Puttlam |
| Northern Province | Vavuniya Jaffna Mullaitivu |
Vavuniya, Mannar Jaffna, Point Pedro Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi |
| Sabaragamuwa Province | Rathnapura Kegalle |
Rathnapura, Pelmadulla, Embilipitiya Kegalle, Ruwanwella |
| Southern Province | Galle Matara Hambantota |
Galle, Hiniduma Matara, Deniyaya Hambantota , Tangalle |
| Uva Province | Badulla Monaragala |
Badulla, Bandarawela Monaragala, Bibile |
| Western Province | Colombo Gampaha Kalutara |
Colombo, Avissawella Gampaha, Negombo, Nittambuwa Kalutara, Agalawatta, Horana |