We expect the highway to be completed by 2010 or end 2009 at the earliest. We want to open the highway to the public once it has been expanded to a four lane highway,†Amarasekera said.
The highway, when it does finally materialise, is expected to cut travel time between Colombo in the Western province and Matara in the South by over an hour, in addition to spurring economic activity in the area.
Connecting Sri Lanka’s rural Southern region with Colombo city, the 126 kilometre expressway is to be expanded from a two lane to a four lane highway, on safety grounds to manage traffic congestion.
A fact finding mission from the ADB is in town this week to extend the Southern Highway from two lanes to four lanes and will look at a supplementary loan for the highway,†Alessandro Pio, Country Director for ADB Sri Lanka, told an industry gathering.
Supplementary financing to the tune of 85 million dollars is expected from the Manila based bank for part of the highway already b