Govt expedites OCH project

Irangika Range

The Government has accelerated the construction of the Outer Circular Highway(OCH), a high-speed highway that encircles the Colombo city to avoid traffic congestion and improve the mobility around Colombo and its suburbs.

Ports and Highways Deputy Minister Nirmala Kotalawala told the Daily News that President Mahinda Rajapaksa instructed him to directly intervene in the issue and expedite the work.

The 29.1 kilometer road project at an estimated cost of Rs 90 billion is being built in three phases - Kottawa-Kaduwela, Kaduwela-Kadawatha and Kadawatha-Kerawalapitiya.

Deputy Minister Kotalawala inspecting the construction work urged the officers in charged of the construction and other staff to support in achieving the results within a short period.

The Deputy Minster said the amount of vehicles. plying on roads in Colombo and suburbs are increasing day by day.

This has resulted in heavy traffic congestion in the area. The average speed of vehicle mobility within the Colombo city stands at 20-25km/h.

This has caused great inconvenience to vehicle users and unnecessary fuel waste. "That is why the OCH project has been given priority by the Government as a measure to ease woes of vehicle users," he said.

"We have initiated many road projects across the country to improve the national road network including provincial roads to fulfil another pledge of the Mahinda Chinthana policy which will accelerate the socio-economic development in the country," the Minister said.

The proposed OCH highway will start from Kerawalapitiya along the Colombo - Katunayake Expressway to link the Southern Expressway crossing A-4 highway at Kottawa and the main A-1 Colombo-Kandy highway at Kadawatha.