PM to launch first phase of 7th expressway today

All arrangements are in place to launch the construction work of the country’s seventh expressway by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa today.

The inauguration ceremony of the first phase from Kahathuduwa to Ingiriya of the Ruwanpura Expressway is scheduled to be held with the participation of a limited number of participants as per health regulations, and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will participate in the ceremony via new technology from Temple Trees, said a release issued by the Ministry of Highways.

Highways Minister Johnston Fernando said that the implementation of the project is another manifestation of the government’s commitment to realize the visions and policies of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour in line with plans for sustainable development.

The proposed Ruwanpura Expressway from Kahathuduwa to Pelmadulla via Ratnapura connects the Western Province with the Sabaragamuwa Province. The project from Kahathuduwa to Ratnapura to Pelmadulla (73.9 km) has been divided into three phases for implementation purposes. Phase I extends from Kahathuduwa to Ingiriya (24.3 km), Phase II from Ingiriya to Ratnapura (26.2 km), and Phase III from Ratnapura to Pelmadulla (21.4 km). The project has first been envisaged by the Mahinda Chinthana manifesto in 2014. Maga Engineering Company has been selected as the construction contractor of the project at a cost of Rs 54.70 billion.

Minister Fernando said that the government’s development drive was in progress despite the threats and challenges of the pandemic that could not be permitted to hinder achievement of people’s aspirations. “We turned a wasteland into a land of opportunity,” the minister said.

The Ruwanpura Expressway is envisaged to provide a boost for the economic development of the country by help promoting efficiency and it is expected to ease the congestions in Panadura-Ratnapura (A08) and Colombo-Wellawaya-Batticaloa (A-04) routes. People in districts of Colombo, Kalutara, Ratnapura, Badulla, Nuwara Eliya, Moneragala and Hambantota would be directly benefited by the new expressway which provide them with opportunity to transport their produce including tea, apparel, minor export crops and a boom to the gem industry with ease of travelling to find markets, decreases in congestions and costs of fuel and time, the Minister said.