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| Sunday, 26 December 2004 |
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Work on the two expressways to go ahead by Rohan Mathes Highways Ministry Secretary S. Amerasekera affirms that despite the obstacles faced, the Southern Expressway has become a reality now and work on the Colombo-Katunayake Expressway too would commence soon. The Secretary said this at a presentation on 'Highway Development- The way Forward', at Galadari Hotel last week. The Indian National Highways Authority former Chairman and ADB Regional Advisor Deepak Dasgupta spoke on the 'Indian Highway Experience-Lessons Learnt' and ADB Consultant Hardeepak Singh spoke on 'Public Private Partnership for Road Sector'(PPP). The Secretary Amarasekera said that there were certain impediments such as in the acquisition of land, annuity issues and the ADB resettlement policy, which would be hopefully resolved in due course. Deepak Dasgupta in his presentation briefly outlined the Indian perspective on highways, the financing and institutional arrangements, the evolving scenario and its implications, the private sector involvement and the lessons learnt therein. Hardeepak Singh explained the PPP mechanism, its application to the road sector, its facilitation and the lessons learnt. The RDA Planning Director R.M. Amarasekera, speaking on 'Sri Lanka's Road Development for Accessibility and Mobility', said that there are 11600 km of roads covered by the RDA. The investment on highways is generally of a fluctuating nature, but the highway sector budget as a proportion of the total budget is 14 per cent now. "He pointed out that the road density in Sri Lanka is about 1.5 km/sq km, which is highest in the region. The under-development of the local construction industry was the main constraint faced," he said. CCI President Surath Wickremasinghe added that in the development of infrastructural facilities of a country, the roads and highways played a key role. However, Sri Lankan roads which are still in a perilous condition had acted as a deterrent in the development of the country. The Chamber of Construction Industry Sri Lanka (CCI) in association with the National Construction Association of Sri Lanka (NCASL), had organised the presentation with the objective of enlightening the decision makers and construction professionals with the concepts and methodology adopted in India and consensus could be reached on the facilitation and formulation of the necessary strategies. |
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