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Govt. to renegotiate Expressway projects to lower costs: Kabir
The Government is to sign fresh agreements on Expressway construction projects to reduce their cost, Minister of Highways and Investment Promotion Kabir Hashim told the Sunday Times. Accordingly, agreements on the extension of the Southern Expressway project from Matara to Hambantota, and the Northern Expressway project which will now be known as the Colombo-Kandy Highway project, will be renegotiated. Minister Hashim said that the cost of the Matara-Hambantota Expressway project is estimated to decrease by about 20 per cent from the original amount.
He said the construction of the Northern Expressway was originally supposed to be carried out by both local and Chinese contractors, but there was no proper bidding process by the previous regime, which instead, chose several companies.
He said the project costs given by these companies were 20% to 30% more than the original estimate.
‘The new Government is committed to building the Northern Expressway, but first, a competitive bidding process will be held to ensure the best deal is obtained for the country. The project will now be known as the Colombo-Kandy Highway. Its first stage will be built up to Kandy, and it will then divert to the North of the country,”he added.
Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake told the Sunday Times that the Northern Expressway project was initially estimated to cost Rs 24 billion, but the Chinese company has now agreed to construct it for Rs 6 billion less than the original price quoted.
Mr Karunanayake said that, during his scheduled visit to China shortly, he will be discussing some of the Chinese projects and renegotiate the loan repayments. He said the loan repayment for the construction of Mattala airport is among them.