Expressway to the future opens today

By Shirajiv SIRIMANE

Today is a red letter day in the history of Sri Lanka's transport and highways sector as President Mahinda Rajapaksa opens the first section of the Colombo-Matara Expressway, the Kottawa-Galle stretch.

The credit for the project has to go to President Rajapaksa as he single-handedly shouldered its coordination, which will take the country a step closer to becoming the Wonder of Asia. If not for his leadership, the expressway, which initially was planned in 1990, would have been confined to plans. It has been a notable achievement for the Road Development Authority (RDA) as well.

When the project was about to get off the ground, groups of people turned up at the construction site and protested that their livelihoods are being disturbed, the eco-system being exploited; some even went to the extent of taking legal action against the project. Ironically, the same people who objected to the project then, sat on the newly constructed expressway and celebrated the arrival of their new friend, with kevum, kiribath, singing and dancing, as they have now realised that this is the path to prosperity.

The Government has earmarked many townships for development on key parts of the planned network of new expressways, thus ensuring that the land prices in these areas would soar. The tourism sector would also benefit as people who wanted to host events including weddings and parties in the city would now go to places such as Beruwela.

"We may soon see people from the city coming to our hotels for dinner" General Manager Eden Resort and Spa, Eksath Wijeratne said. "We are now gearing ourselves for a new food and beverage and wedding market, thanks to the highway," he said.

The transport sector which comprise mini buses and three- wheelers would have a new market while mini supermarkets too are being created to cater to the new townships that would be built.

Malaysian example

During the late 1980s, Malaysia, which was an agri-based country, was trying to woo investors to take the country to the next level. However, they were cold-shouldered as the country was huge and there was no proper road network for investors to start factories in the outskirts of the city, closer to places where raw material was available.

The then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed identified this problem and opened out their road network to international investors who were given the option on a build, operate and transfer basis. This scheme worked perfectly for Malaysia as investors built highways and recovered their cost, by collecting a toll. This, together with the hosting of the Commonwealth Games, which put Malaysia on the global investment map, helped the country to become a developed nation with everything under the sun now being produced there. Though Sri Lanka lost the bid to host the Commonwealth Games in 2018, thus depriving us of a golden opportunity to take the country to the next level of development, the investments made to improve the infrastructure in areas such as highways, ports, aviation, power and energy and IT would help the country move closer to become the Wonder of Asia.

The Southern Expressway is the first and the longest of the proposed expressway network of Sri Lanka. It runs from Kottawa to Matara, a stretch of 128 kilometres with four lanes, and is being completed at a cost of Rs. 85 billion. Plans are also under way to extend it to Hambantota and Arugam Bay. Future plans include extending it to six lanes. This would be followed by the Colombo-Katunayake expressway and the Colombo-Kandy Highway.

The Colombo-Kandy alternate highway, which begins from Kadawatha, is currently being designed. The most important link between these expressways is the Outer Circular Highway, which is also being constructed from Kottawa to Kadawatha. The northern section of the Outer Circular Highway which will connect to the Katunayake Expressway is to be constructed.

Interchanges

There are eight interchanges to the Southern Expressway, between Kottawa and Galle; at Kottawa, Kahathuduwa, Galanigama, Dodangoda, Levanduwa, Kurundugahahetekma, Baddegama and Pinnaduwa near the Holcim Cement factory in Galle.The Police Department will deploy around 500 personnel for duties along the Expressway. A Police Division has been formed for exclusive expressway duties after it is opened to traffic. Radio cars and motorcycle patrols will operate round the clock under this Police Division.

Charges for vehicles on the expressway are to be levied under four categories. The first category of Cars, Vans and Jeeps are to be charged Rs. 400. The second category of Buses and Lorries will be charged Rs. 700 while the third category of vehicles with 10 wheels will be charged Rs. 1,500. The fourth category of vehicles with over 10 wheels will be charged Rs. 2,000 from Pinnaduwa to Kottawa.

Sri Lankans, irrespective of political or other differences, can now be proud that the country has a piece of luxury which international travellers enjoyed overseas, and also claim an asset most other developed countries have.