After two months in operation:

Southern Expressway revenue Rs 151 million

Hemanthi Guruge

The Sri Lanka Government has earned over Rs 151 million from the Southern Expressway within two months of opening. The Southern Expressway is the first expressway in the country which was opened on November 27 last year. Southern Expressway Acting Director B.D.K Bandara told Daily News Business that Rs 70 million out of the total of Rs 151 million had been earned from the Southern Expressway during January. The administration records show an earning of Rs 4.6 million during the Independence Day.

The average daily revenue from the Southern Expressway is around Rs 2.5 million.

More than 530,000 vehicles have entered the Southern Expressway through eight interchanges within two months of opening.

Almost 96 vehicle accidents and 1,900 breakdowns have been reported within the second month of operation. Therefore RDA advises public to use vehicles that are in good condition.

A special bus service is being operated between Maharagama and Galle every forty minutes. A fare of Rs 400 is charged per passenger travelling from Maharagama to Galle, and vice versa.

The Southern Expressway will be linked to the Colombo- Katunayake Expressway, enabling a person to reach the Colombo airport from the Southern Province without going through Colombo. Construction of the next stage of the Expressway from Galle to Matara has already commenced.

The Southern Expressway from Pinnaduwa to Kottawa opened on November 27 enabling a motorist from Pinnaduwa to reach Kottawa within one hour.