Private companies may run expressways

With a debt-servicing crisis looming large, many are the measures leaders in the Maithripala Sirisena-Ranil Wickremesinghe government are examining to soften it.One such move, under consideration, is the creation of a privately managed entity to operate the country’s two expressways, the one from Kottawa to Galle and the other from Colombo to Katunayake.

Though owned by the Government, such a project, one politician claims, would enable the entity to raise foreign loans. Such loans, he argues, will not fall within the definition of a government debt. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that the Government should not raise any more loans in the wake of the ongoing crisis over repayments.

At present, the two main highways come within the purview of the Road Development Authority (RDA).
Badly cash strapped, the Government is also examining whether there should be an upward revision of toll on the two highways. This is in view of the poor yield of only a fifth of the anticipated revenue.

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