Cabinet awards contract for construction of first phase of Ruwanpura Expressway

The cabinet, chaired by President Maithripala Sirisena has approved the awarding of the contract for the construction of the first phase of the 73.9 km Ruwanpura Expressway to China National Technical Import and Export Corporation (CNTIC) on Tuesday (19), according to Higher Education and Highways Minister Lakshman Kiriella.

Minister Kiriella told yesterday that the construction of the Ruwanpura expressway would be carried out by four Chinese companies namely CNTIC, China National Aero-Technology International Engineering Corporation (CATIC-ENG), Human Construction Engineering Group Corporation (HCEGC) and China Harbour Engineering Corporation (CHEC) as per the cabinet approval granted on August 15 last year.

The four companies would handle the construction of four sections of the expressway— Kahatuduwa to Ingiriya, Ingiriya to Kahengama, Kahengama to Bela and Bela to Pelmadulla respectively, the Minister said.

The construction of the first section (26.3 km) from Kahatuduwa to Ingiriya would commence soon and it was expected to be completed in three years, Kiriella said.

According to the Road Development Authority (RDA), the Ruwanpura Expressway will be Sri Lanka’s sixth E Class highway linking the Kahathuduwa exit on the Southern Expressway with Pelmadulla, a major city in the Sabaragamuwa Province, via Ratnapura, the provincial capital of Sabargamuwa Province.

It is anticipated that the new expressway will reduce commuting time between Colombo and Ratnapura to 45 minutes and Colombo and Pelmadulla to one hour.