President instructs Ministry officials to expedite work :

Two new highways to be opened soon

by Ranil Wijayapala

The Highways Ministry is completing two new highway projects - the Katunayake Expressway and the Matara Expressway which will be open to the public in August and September this year, Secretary to the Ministry of Ports and Highways Ranjith Premasiri told the Sunday Observer .

He said construction work on these mega projects, now in the final stages will be inaugurated in August and September this year.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa, as the Minister of Ports and Highways recently instructed Ministry officials to expedite work on the two new highways and open them this year.

The Colombo–Katunayake Expressway which starts from the New Kelani Bridge in Colombo and ends at the access road to the International Airport, Katunayake is expected to reduce the travel time from Colombo to Katunayake to 20 minutes.

The Rs. 32 billion project with 85 percent funding from China on a loan facility extended to the Government by the People’s Republic of China was launched on August 18, 2009.

Construction work on the second phase of the Southern Expressway is now progressing and will be completed by September this year. It is the first expressway in Sri Lanka. The first phase of the project from Kottawa to Pinnaduwa in Galle was inaugurated in November 2011 and most motorists travelling towards the southern destination are now using the Expressway.

Construction work on the second section from Pinnaduwa to Godagama, about 35Kms is now being completed and will be inaugurated in September this year, the Secretary said. On completion of the highway up to Godagama, Matara, it will be extended to Hambantota connecting the Mattala Airport, he said.