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| Sunday, 3 February 2002 |
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Construction industry calls for another road trace by Indunil thenuwara The Chamber of Construction Industry is urging the government to look for another road trace for the Colombo - Katunayake expressway. President of the Chamber Surath Wickramasinghe told the Sunday Observer that the Colombo - Katunayake road trace goes through the Negombo lagoon and Muthurajawela, ending at Peliyagoda. An expressway going through the lagoon will do a lot of damage to this environment as well as being an eyesore. He said: "What we are proposing is to develop this expressway along the railway line. This would not result in any ecological imbalances or damage to the environment. No land acquisitions, demolition of houses or dislocation of people will take place; there could be transport intersections and room for a lot of commercial activities. Almost all development activities and areas such as the airport, free trade zones and housing projects at Ekala and Ja-ela are to the east of the railway line. "We can have a container yard nearby which will allow value addition activities to be conducted there, also resulting in more room at the port. Shopping and entertainment complexes, bus depots and car parks can also be put up so that commercial and recreational activities are centralised. This will help to take services confined to Colombo to other areas while reducing traffic congestion and pollution in Colombo city." According to Wickramasinghe, the Colombo - Katunayake expressway project is expected to cost Rs. 12 billion and Rs. 2 billion out of this had already been spent on filling alone. "With regard to this project, approval was granted to the cheapest, but this does not necessarily mean the best. We should invest in projects where we stand to gain multiple benefits. Just because we have already spent money on this, it does not mean we have to commit more on an unviable project," he said. The Chamber of Construction Industry was formed last October to be a voice for the industry, to act as a 'think tank' for the development of the industry and "to tell the government where they are going wrong and how to get the job done". "We have to select the good projects, reject the bad ones and the Colombo - Katunayake highway was definitely a bad one. The Southern highway, Galle harbour and expansion of the port and airport are commendable," he said. Feasibility studies are now under way for the Colombo - Kandy highway. "However, we cannot afford two or three expressways. What we should have is a Colombo - Trincomalee highway and links off that to Katunayake, Kandy, Anuradhapura and even Jaffna. This would benefit the whole country," Wickramasinghe said. He was also favourable towards the Colombo - South highway, which is "very important and a very good link to Hambantota". However, this stops at Kottawa. Likewise, the Colombo - Katunayake expressway also stops at Peliyagoda. There is no link between Peliyagoda and Kottawa apart from a ring road. The severe traffic problems which could arise at these two locations can be eased if there was a link between these destinations through Colombo. An elevated highway has also been suggested to extend the route from Kottawa to Seethawaka. Entry and exit points need to come up at strategic locations for those entering or departing the highway. These projects can be carried out with private/public sector participation under Build Own Operate or Build Own Transfer basis, he said. Wickramasinghe also said that projects of this nature should be developed only after discussions with the government, private sector, chambers of industry, civil society and academics. |
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