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| Wednesday, 20 October 2004 |
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by Nadira Gunatilleke A National Highways Policy will be formulated and legislation introduced for speedy implementation of road development projects swiftly. Road development projects are delayed unnecessarily due to land acquisition problems, Highways Deputy Minister T.B.Ekanayake said yesterday. Addressing a press briefing held in Colombo yesterday, Deputy Minister Ekanayake said that hereafter Telecom, the Water Supply and Drainage Board and all the other relevant institutions will be called for a discussion before implementing a road development project to prevent constant road digging. This exercise diminishes the quality of roads, he added. The `Maga Neguma' road development project will be implemented countrywide at a cost of Rs. 240 million this year. Another Rs. 500 million will be allocated next year for the same project. Arrangements will also be made to tar three roads (30 Kilometres) in each electorate. People's contributions will be sought when implementing this project. The Colombo - Matara highway project will be completed by 2009. This year Rs. 1800 million is needed to provide compensation. The total amount of funds needed to pay compensation is Rs. 4500 million. All compensation payments related to the Colombo (Kottawa) - Matara Expressway will be completed by December 15, 2004. Difficulties of land acquisition is one of the major reasons for the delays of road development projects. The Katunayake - Colombo highway was scheduled to be completed by October 2003 and the estimated cost of this project was US $ 150 million. Now US $ 155 million is needed to complete the rest of the project. The project was abandoned by the previous regime in December 2002. The present Government explored the possibility of inviting investors on a BOT basis with the assistance of BII and ADB. |
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