Development

Best roads in region - the target :

Transport sector to undergo major transformation

The Southern Expressway extension to Matara will be ready in 18 months, bringing Matara closer to Colombo and opening new economic activities in the area

By Shirajiv SIRIMANE

Sri Lanka’s transport sector is set to undergo a major transformation and soon the country would be able to say with pride that it has the best road network in the region. The way people travelled changed drastically with the opening of the Southern Expressway last year, and early next year the Colombo-Katunayake highway would be completed, taking a passenger to the airport from Peliyagoda in less than 20 minutes.

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa said discussions are under way with Qatar government officials for assistance to extend the Colombo-Katunayake highway to Kalpitiya. The reason for the Qatar government’s involvement in this project is their keenness to use three islands in the Kalpitiya tourism zone to build hotels. “They want to have quick access to these hotels and are keen on the highway extension,” the Minister said.

Construction work under way

Plans of highway projects

Today, the Colombo-Galle Expressway is viewed as one of the most successful development projects in the country. It is ironic that the very people who protested against it are today enjoying the benefits of the project. Eight private and State-run Ashok Leyland buses are already deployed from Maharagama to the Galle bus station and all of them are running to capacity. The bus takes a passenger to Galle in one hour and 40 minutes and the fee charged is Rs. 470. The Southern Expressway extension to Matara would be ready in 18 months, bringing Matara closer to Colombo, and opening up new economic activities in the area.

Several star class hotel operators are already eyeing investment opportunities as they have realised that many local and foreign guests would arrive in the area along the highway. Today, thanks to the highway, most hotels in Hikkaduwa are being upgraded and the area is undergoing a major transformation. Sri Lanka would also see another ‘bit’ of history taking place in the highway mid-2012 with the opening of two major restaurants near Bentota.

Restaurants

These restaurants would enable a driver to relax and refresh. Top restaurant chains have already contracted with coordinator of the project, Sri Lanka Insurance to open mini restaurants.

They will have parking facilities, toilets and other infrastructure for the highway user and most importantly, be open to both sides of the highway. They would be a major attraction for groups using the highway and for families with children.

One of the other key developments that would take place with regard to the Colombo-Galle Expressway this April would be the increasing of the speed limit.

MP Namal Rajapaksa said that President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who himself drove at 120Kmph at the opening, wanted to pass that benefit to the public; this is expected to be a reality during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year period. The Government has obtained financial assistance of Rs. 9,348.61 million (US$ 85 million) from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to rehabilitate the roads connecting to the Southern Expressway. The total estimated cost for rehabilitation of these roads is Rs. 11,613 million (US$ 105.6 million). He also disclosed plans for the highway being extended to Hambantota and then to Arugam Bay in the future.

The much awaited and long overdue Matara-Kataragama rail link along Beliatta too would fall into track soon. The Government is to also rehabilitate 662.04 km of national highways with concrete surfacing through local contractors, using funds obtained by the Road Development Authority amounting to around US$ 500 million from local banks.

Meanwhile, a World Bank study has commended the Government for building the Colombo-Kandy Elevated Expressway and said it would significantly reduce transport costs and connect under-developed regions with developed ones.

Interchanges

The World Bank study said the planned expressway would yield more gains in comparison to alternative road improvements that would only reduce transport costs to a lesser extent.

The report further said the Expressway would greatly improve connectivity between the two largest economic urban centres in Sri Lanka, which would almost certainly be needed to meet the growing shipping volume and traffic between these economic centres. The work on the Colombo-Katunayake highway is now in progress with the entry and toll points at the entrance to Katunayake almost complete.

Those entering the Katunayake highway from the Katunayake turnoff roundabout would go through an overpass and travel along the lagoon. They would once again cross the Negombo-Colombo road near Kerawalapitiya where there is a major interchange where it would connect with the Outer Circular Highway.

New Kelani Bridge Interchange (entrance and exit), Peliyagoda Interchange and Ja-Ela Interchange would be the other entry points to the highway. It would have 42 bridges and 88 culverts to ensure the smooth flow of traffic.

The project initially commenced in 2003 but was halted due to lack of funds. It was then funded with local capital; now Chinese credit has been secured for the project. One of the biggest development projects in the country, the highway would see an investment of over Rs. 37 billion with 85 percent of the funding coming from China Exim Bank. It’s also noteworthy that the Colombo-Katunayake highway was initially planned to be completed before the Southern Expressway.

The Colombo outer circular express way would be a 29 km (18 mile) long outer circular road network that will link the Colombo-Matara Expressway with the Colombo-Katunayake Expressway. It will provide an orbital beltway to bypass the city of Colombo and reduce traffic congestion. The project is funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The highway was planned to have six tracks from Colombo to Peliyagoda and four lanes, from Peliyagoda to Katunayake.

The speed range will be 80 kilometres per hour from Colombo to Peliyagoda and from Peliyagoda to Katunayake, 100 kilometres once completed.

Special methods are being adopted to construct the road embankment in marshy areas due to the prevailing weak soil conditions. Sea sand, which has been already dredged, will be used in stabilising the weak soil.

The land acquisition and resettlement work is almost completed and over Rs. 1.6 billion was spent as compensation for the acquired land. Over 700 families have already been resettled.

The existing roads are being redone to have them in line with the Expressway and this is evident in the Colombo-Kandy road up to Kadawatha with an island being built in the middle of the road and the stretch being carpeted.

Airport and Aviation Services Ltd., headed by Prasannna Wickramasuriya, has already cleared the checkpoints, while SriLankan Airlines has reduced the check-in time when entering the airport. Once the highway is completed, taking a flight from Colombo would not be a hassle at all.