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Wednesday, 30 November 2011

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Development

A drive to economic prosperity


President Mahinda Rajapaksa, First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa and sons Namal and Yoshitha
Rajapaksa take a ride after opening the Expressway. Pictures by Nissanka Wijeratne


The Welipenna interchange

The Southern Expressway will trigger Sri Lanka's drive to maturity while the accelerated development phase of the country will generate multiplier effects embracing all sectors and integrated geographical regions.

The inaugural opening of the Southern Expressway highlights the development significance and will have far reaching benefits that will not only accrue for the Southern region and the country as a whole, Highways Deputy Minister Nirmala Kotalawala told Daily News Business.

The road network will stimulate connectivity with the rest of the highways and this will fuel growth of industries and trade while providing an efficient transportation mechanism to both local and export markets, he said.

The development of the Southern Highway from Colombo to Hambantota where an industrial port based township will be developed as a counter magnet to Colombo will provide the potential for accelerated economic development.

It will promote a development corridor and improve accessibility to Colombo in supplying agriculture produce and fisheries through a fast delivery process, he said. While recognizing the time saving as a financial gain the expressway will be extended to Matara by 2013.

The Katunayake Colombo outer circular road is expected to be completed by the end of next year. The toll fee is mainly for maintenance purposes and it is not profit oriented. The project will be run without being a burden to the Treasury to ensure its viability, the Deputy Minister said.

The Southern Expressway is a welcome development to Sri Lanka especially considering the country's efforts to become a logistics hub.

"We need an extraordinary transport system to achieve hub status, Logistics Expert Rohan Masakorala said. "This expressway should be the model to set up similar facilities connecting key locations where it facilitates fast movement of goods and vehicles and development of tourism and trade as growth sectors," he said. While cautioning the drivers to use the expressway with due care and safety, he emphasized the need to maintain road discipline.

"We need to link the other regions and have an integrated road network to support the country's forward march, Masakorala said.

 

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