Parliament passes Road Bill

PARLIAMENT passed the Road (Management and Fund) Bill 76 votes to one in Parliament yesterday.
Parliament passed the Bill after Works Minister Michael Nali presented the Bill in Parliament saying it would replace the outdated road maintenance Act 1971 which could no longer meet the growing needs of the economy that relied heavily on the land transport system to deliver the economic, social and welfare benefits to the people of this country.
The Bill also replaced the National Road Authority (NRA) Act 2003 to eliminate duplication of functions between the NRA and Works Department and further removed the conflicting road management functions and road fund management function currently in the same Act and absorbed the National Highways Management functions in a single highway management entity rather than the current shared responsibility between the NRA and Works causing confusion to the Government and road users and public.
Nali said under the proposed restructure, all national highways including the additional 2,400km to be developed under the missing links, would be managed by a dedicated highway management division.