Highways Minister Johnston Fernando yesterday ordered that the heads of the consultative firms responsible for the construction of the Kadawatha-Mirigama stretch of the Central Expressway be summoned for an urgent meeting.

The Minister gave this order at a meeting at the ministry over a protracted delay in the construction of the Kadawatha-Mirigama section of the Central Expressway, ministry sources said.

 Two top officials attached to the project were also transferred with immediate effect yesterday.

 The Minister said that he had severely warned the officials twice but they had failed to sort out the inordinate delay.

 When the Minister called for a meeting of the heads of companies which provided consultancy for the phase between Kadawatha and Mirigama, he was informed that they were abroad, and the minister ordered the representatives of those companies to summon them within the next 30 days.

When asked for the information on locations of constructions being carried out, the officials were unable to submit them, ministry sources said adding that they had also failed to submit the list of contractors.

The Minister said that a firm that had been awarded the contract for the construction of the Kadawatha-Mirigama stretch of the Central Expressway by the yahapalana government had been removed recently for the slow progress in the execution of the project.  

The Minister said he had urged the contractors to expedite the project implementation.   

The contractors had been given a deadline of two and half years to complete the work. “The work on the project is extremely slow despite the payment of Rs 16.7 billion in advance,” the Minister said.   

 Minister Fernando has informed the contractors that the government would not pay anything extra if the contractors dragged their feet on the project.   

Secretary to the Ministry of Highways R.W. R. Premasiri also participated in the meeting.