Kiriella assures Highways will remain with RDA

Minister of Higher Education and Highways Lakshman Kiriella says the Government has not decided to hand over the maintenance of the country’s highway network to the private sector.

Issuing a media communiqué he said, that it…… has been reported to him that employees of the Road Development Authority (RDA) had become suspicious that the Government was making moves to handover the overall control of the highway network – encompassing the Southern Expressway, the Highway network from Kottawa to Kadawatha and the Katunayake Highway network – to another party by taking it away from the RDA.

The Minister said the Government was only monitoring the current operation system of the entire highway network and on ways and means of further improving it using the latest technology available.

The Minister has pointed out that the Government was also on the lookout for further development of the entire highway system and hence was out to tie up with sectors that could carry out such undertakings.

Kiriella has stated that thus far the Government has not made any final decision on handing over the control of the highway system to any other party than the RDA.