(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) – Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe says the government’s policy is to build a proper road network for the country and the government has made plans to create a national road system which does not change with changes in governments.
Speaking at the ceremony to launch the National Program to vest and commence construction of 200 projects to build roads and bridges island wide in Mawanella yesterday, the Prime Minister noted that before this government came into power the road systems were designed in an irregular manner.
He said the present government’s drive is to develop the transport network to ensure the entire public benefits from it and planning to build the road system in a more systematic way. Accordingly, a road network from Kandy to Hambanthota is currently under construction.
A second road system will be constructed from Kurunegala to Trincomalee with the support of the Asian Development Bank amd Indian government is funding the construction of road network from Trincomalee to Mannar through Vavuniya.
The Prime Minister today launched the “Hadavath Ya Kerena Ran Mawath” (Golden Roads Connecting Hearts) national program, which is implemented on a concept of Minister of Highways and Road Development and Petroleum Resources Development Kabir Hashim, to construct 200 bridges and roads across the island with an investment of Rs. 30 billion.
Inaugurating the program in Mawanella town this morning, the Premier opened the roads that lead to Aranayake, Gampola and Rambukkana from Mawanella. The Mawanella-Rambukkana road and Mawanella-Aranayake, Horewela road were reconstructed at a cost of Rs 2.48 billion while the Mawanella-Hemmathagama Gampola road was built at a cost of Rs. 5.78 billion.
The Prime Minister also opened the Kochchikade Bridge connecting the Western and North Western Provinces. The bridge was constructed at a cost of Rs. 1.5 billion.
