The government of Sri Lanka has announced its plans to restart the construction of the country's road system, which had previously been halted.
State Minister of Highways, Siripala Gamlath, made this announcement during a news conference at the Presidential Media Centre.
Gamlath explained that when he took office as State Minister, many highway projects were at a standstill, with outstanding payments to contractors amounting to approximately Rs.180 billion.
However, the government has already disbursed Rs.151 billion and plans to pay the remaining Rs.29 billion, which has encouraged some contractors to resume their projects. The government has also addressed a backlog of unpaid arrears accumulated over several years. The focus of the road development efforts is on projects managed by the Road Development Authority, which include 12,225 kilometers of roads, 312 kilometers of highways, 5,432 bridges, 12 flyovers, boats, and 9 bridge ferries annually.
The government believes that a robust road network is essential for a manufacturing economy and improving the quality of life for the people. They aim to achieve this through strategic road widening efforts without relying on foreign funding. Additionally, significant investments are directed towards maintaining small bridges and highways.
Gamlath acknowledged that the construction of the Central Expressway has been impacted by the dollar issue. However, he highlighted that the Mirigama-Kurunegala road has been completed, and work on the initial 13 kilometers of the Potuhera-Galagedara road is progressing as planned. In 2019, the government began the critical port access route project, which is financed by the Asian Development Bank.
This project includes a special road that runs from the New Kelani Bridge to Galle Face, aiming to reduce traffic congestion in areas like Colombo Fort and Harbour. The government plans to transfer the port entrance flyover into public ownership by 2024. In addition to the national road system construction, significant progress has been made on other projects. The Kohuwala flyover is 85% complete, and the Peradeniya flyover is 35% complete, with support from a Hungarian loan. Out of the 13,160 roads targeted for construction, 5,201 have already been completed
