DEVELOPMENT AMIDST CRISIS
Three Mega Projects in the equation
No doubt that Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis in its contemporary history at the moment. This pathetic situation was brought about by Covid-19 pandemic which still haunts this developing nation. However, the country is fortunate enough that three mega infrastructure development projects which were commenced before the pandemic, are successfully underway with one project being ceremonially commissioned recently. These three mammoth development projects can be identified as the new Kelaniya Bridge, Central Expressway and Colombo International Airport, Katunayake new terminal projects. New Kelani Bridge which has been named as Golden Gate Kalyani was opened to the public on 24th November 2021 with usual pomp and glitter by HE, the President and Hon. Prime Minister. This Bridge is considered to be an engineering marvel where many new technologies were used in Sri Lanka for the first time, marking a milestone in domestic transport technology. This Bridge which links to the Katunayake Expressway, has two sections namely extradosed bridge and steel box viaduct connection to three main junctions Orugodawatte, Ingurukade and Kelanitissa Power Station junctions. Besides, this complex of road network has an approach road to the Colombo Port as well. The Government has made plans to construct an extension expressway to Athurugiriya thereby linking access to all three Expressways in the future. Since this suspension Bridge was constructed with no piers on the river bed, it causes no environmental impact on the water flow underneath. This would preserve the ecology of the river unlike other bridges that are commonplace in Sri Lanka. Earlier, Kelani Bridge was a hotbed of traffic congestion but a new bridge which optimizes the space by its unique design would ease off the traffic to the commercial capital of Colombo by leaps and bounds. This Bridge has already become an iconic landmark at the threshold of Colombo. This project was funded by JICA, Japanese International Cooperation Agency with an investment of Yen.
Central Expressway
Central Expressway Project is another enthusiastic initiative undertaken by the Government of Sri Lanka. This has been a long felt need as the volume of vehicles which ply Colombo-Kandy road is well above the capacity. It takes almost 3 hours for the journey. The Central Expressway links with the Outer Colombo Expressway at Kadawatha and branches out to Kurunegala and Kandy at Pothuhera. The Kandy section ends at Galagedara. The government also has elaborate plans to extend the expressway road network to North and East in the future. Central Expressway are being implemented in phases as appended below,
- Stage 1 – Kadawatha (0.0km) to Meerigama (37.1km)
- Stage 2 – Meerigama (37.1km) to Kurunegala (76.8km) and Ambepussa link road (9.3km)
- Stage 3 – Pothuhera (0.0km) to Galagedara (Kandy) (32.5km)
- Stage 4 – Kurunegala (76.8km) to Dambulla (137.1km)
According to government sources, the construction of Meerigama- Kurunegala (Pothuhera) section is almost complete as at now and will be opened for public soon. Kadawatha- Meerigama section is yet to be completed and once it is done, Sri Lanka could boast of a vibrant expressway road network with the prospects of extensions to Jaffna in Northern peninsula, Trincomalee and Batticola in the Eastern Province. This expressway was originally mooted way back in 2002 during President Chndrika Banadaranaike Kumaratunge and Premier Ranil Wickramasinghe government, in a bid to connect Greater Kandy Development Project with Western Region Megapolis. This project was estimated to cost Rs 135 Billion which was raised by the government from syndicate loans obtained from a number of financial agencies. This project which was commissioned in 2017, is expected to be completed in 2 ½ years but there have been obvious delays due to the pandemic that still wreaks havoc in the country. It is widely speculated that the government would endeavor to complete the project within a minimum period of time, given the importance of the project. The government believes that this improved transport network would bring rich dividends that would bolster its vision of development.
New Airport Terminal well on schedule
Being an island on the southern tip of the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka has every potential to become the aviation hub of the region. The Government seemed to have placed emphasis on this phenomenon and therefore, with a soft loan from JICA, new terminal is taking shape at Bandaranaike International Airport. The existing terminal has the capacity to handle 3 Million passengers a year. However, the country’s air traffic has increased drastically of late and therefore, the terminal is instead handling 6 Million passengers a year. So, there had been a long felt need to find a solution to this problem. Coupled with the government’s vision to create an aviation hub, Sri Lanka was set to tackle two issues with one solution. Now, construction of the new terminal is in full swing and expected to be completed in December 2023. Once this project is completed, Banadaranaike International Airport will increase the volume of passenger handling to 15 Million per year. It will add 10 more gates for aircraft parking, making it 16 all in all. It will increase check-in counters from 53 to 149, departure counters from 21 to 53, arrival counters from 27 to 83, thereby more than doubling the capacity. The capacity of rest rooms and lounges will also be increased to 10 in contrast to just 4 at present. The project is also marred by the pandemic and some other issues. But, Major General G.A Chandrasiri, the Chairman of Airport and Aviation Services of Sri Lanka and the Project Director Mr. Prasanna Jinaratne are full of confidence that they could complete the project on schedule. People are hopeful that this Rs 107 Billion worth project will bring immense benefits to Sri Lanka. It is also noteworthy that the design of the terminal has been fashioned to retain Sri Lankan unique identity and environmental friendly atmosphere. The government also has plans to link the terminal to a railway system where the passengers could travel at the lap of luxury to their destinations.
These three projects will change the topography and landscape of Colombo and Katunayake surely beyond recognition. With the Port City project realizing, the city of Colombo will be a modern destination that would beckon a high volume of tourists. These dreams are to come true within a span of 3-4 years if everything goes smoothly. As Sri Lankans, we need to be optimistic about these developments which will raise our standard of living and the quality of life.
