LNP - Harsha raises concerns on Central Expressway contract

Chairman of the Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) Harsha De Silva raised concerns on the new contract for the construction of the Central Expressway, claiming that negotiations with neither the contractor (MCC) on their claims nor with China EXIM Bank on terms and conditions on the reduced USD 500 million facility have been completed.  He said the CoPF reviewed the Rs. 226 billion Central Expressway project driven by delays and mounting interests.  He said in a post on X that "Even though President Anura Kumara Dissanayake restarted the project with much fanfare, we learnt at the committee that negotiations with neither the contractor (MCC) on their claims, nor with China EXIM on terms and conditions on the reduced USD 500M facility have been completed." The Chair said they were puzzled why the Highways Ministry wants to switch from the current 15 year fixed rate of 2.5% rate to a variable rate with current fixed rate of 2.5% as the floor and 3.5% as the cap.  "The CoPF urged a fair, symmetric deal where both sides have equal upside in case of movement of the long term Chinese rates," he said in the post.