Phase 1 of Central Expressway to cost additional Rs 36 billion

Phase 1 of the Central Expressway will finally commence at the end of this month, but will cost the State an additional Rs 36 billion due to a three-year delay in finalizing the loan agreement, a senior official stated. 

Secretary to the Ministry of Roads & Highways, R.W.R. Pemasiri told Times Online that the contract for Phase 1 of the project, from Kadawatha to Mirigama, was signed in 2015 by the previous Government with the Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC), but it took until 2019 for the loan agreement to be finalized. 

The delay meant that the material cost of the project went up while the rapid depreciation of the Sri Lankan Rupee also had a serious effect. As such, by the time the project gets underway in the next few weeks, the State would have to bear an additional cost of an estimated Rs 36 billion due to the delay, he explained. 

Construction of Phase 1 of the Central Expressway Project is scheduled to be completed in three years. 

Under the terms of the loan agreement, 85% of the funds will come from China's Exim Bank while the Sri Lankan Government will put finance the balance 15%. 

Meanwhile, Phase 2 of the Central Expressway project is currently ongoing with the participation of four local contractors. The initial cost of this phase was estimated at Rs 137 billion but it is now estimated to total around Rs 155 billion, the Secretary added.