|
ERM grants international environment certificate:
Funding for Katunayake expressway
Shirajiv Sirimane
|
Confident: Vinci Corporation France, Director for India and Sri
Lanka, Michel Olivers.
Picture by Sumanachandra Ariyawansa
|
ERM International, an international environment certificate awarding
body working for international banks last Friday granted environmental
approval for the proposed Colombo Katunayake expressway.
In an exclusive interview to the Daily News Business Vinci
Corporation France, Director for India and Sri Lanka, Michel Olivers,
said this would enable them to raise finances from international export
credit agencies for the project.
The total cost for the project would be US$ 200 million and it would
be raised from private lending enterprises in Malaysia, Belgium,
Netherlands and France.
He said that this environmental approval was something that their
financiers were waiting for and he was confident that credit would be
released by next month.
“We are confident that we could start construction by the end of the
year,” he said. The first phase is to be completed in 24 months.
One of the unique features of this project is that the Sri Lankan
Government would not have to pay a cent until construction is complete.
This is also Sri Lanka’s first public road, which charges a toll.
Vinci construction of France, the largest construction firm in the
world, and a company over 100 years old, has on going projects in over
80 countries.
This is the first major project that Vinci Construction of France is
involved in Sri Lanka.
“We are happy to work in the country and have not faced any uncalled
for red tape so far,” he said.
“I also met the Secretary to the Treasury, Dr. P.B. Jayasundera and
high officials of the Ministry of Highways and is happy with their
response,” he said.
‘Even in France we have to go through two or three ministries when
obtaining, approval for a project on this nature and it is the same in
Sri Lanka too.
The Expressway would also be an encouragement for more investments,
as it was one of the key infrastructure tools that were needed for the
country.
The highway would be of 25.8 kilometres with five bypasses. It would
have four lanes and in some places it would have six lanes.
“The biggest advantage of the project is that it would take less than
half an hour to reach the Colombo International Airport from the new
Kelani Bridge which is the starting point of the highway.
Asked what the company would do with regard to the existing
constructions he said that they would build on it. |
