Work on Maradankadawala-B'caloa highway kicks off

by Anura Maitipe

Construction work on the Maradankadawala-Batticaloa highway at a cost of Rs. 1.4 billion with financial assistance from the World Bank commenced last week. This project will be completed within two years, Minister of Highways Jeyaraj Fernandopulle told the 'Sunday Observer' .

The 128-kilometre highway will run from the North Central Province towards the North and Eastern provinces. The project will be completed in two stages. Under the first stage the road will be constructed from Maradankadawalla to Jayanthipura and thereafter to Batticaloa, the Minister, said.

The Minister said the government targets to construct 400 kilometres of highways in the first five-year tenure of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. With out a proper highway network the country could never reach its development target, he said.

The government has commenced work on many highway projects in the country. The Matara-Colombo highway is nearing completion. The construction of the Kandy, Colombo and Katunayake-Colombo highways are in progress, he said.

Developed countries in the West and developing countries in Asia such as China, India, Malaysia and Indonesia have reached the level of developed countries by developing the highway network in their countries. We too should do likewise to meet our development targets.

With the construction of highways people can reach their workplaces in time and the number of travelling hours will be saved. The land value goes up, new factories and hotels will be built, new employment opportunities will be created and the lifestyle of people in there areas will improve, he added.