The construction of the country’s seventh expressway will be launched by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa today (07). The inauguration ceremony of the first phase from Kahatuduwa to Ingiriya of the Ruwanpura Expressway is scheduled to be held with the participation of a limited number of people as per the health regulations in place in view of the pandemic.

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will participate in the ceremony via new technology from Temple Trees, said a release issued by the Ministry of Highways.

Highways Minister Johnston Fernando said that the implementation of the project was a manifestation of the government’s commitment to realising the visions and policies of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour in line with plans for sustainable development.

The proposed Ruwanpura Expressway from Kahatuduwa to Pelmadulla via Ratnapura connects the Western Province with the Sabaragamuwa Province. The project from Kahatuduwa to Ratnapura to Pelmadulla (73.9 km) has been divided into three phases for implementation purposes. Phase I extends from Kahathuduwa to Ingiriya (24.3 km), Phase II from Ingiriya to Ratnapura (26.2 km), and Phase III from Ratnapura to Pelmadulla (21.4 km). The project has first been envisaged by the Mahinda Chinthana manifesto in 2014. Maga Engineering Company has been selected as the construction contractor of the project at a cost of Rs 54.70 billion.

Minister Fernando said that the government’s development drive was in progress despite the threats and challenges of the pandemic that could not be permitted to hinder achievement of people’s aspirations. “We turned a wasteland into a land of opportunity,” the minister said.

The Ruwanpura Expressway is envisaged to provide a boost for the economic development of the country by help promoting efficiency and it is expected to ease the congestion on Panadura-Ratnapura (A08) and Colombo-Wellawaya-Batticaloa (A-04) routes. People in districts of Colombo, Kalutara, Ratnapura, Badulla, Nuwara Eliya, Moneragala and Hambantota would be directly benefited by the new expressway which provide them with opportunity to transport their produce including tea, apparel, minor export crops and a boom to the gem industry with ease of travelling to find markets, decrease in congestion, less burning of fuel and saving on time, the Minister said.