Construction of the Kadawatha - Mirigama expressway soon

It is reported that all arrangements have been made to sign a new revised agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka and China to restart construction work on the Kadawatha to Mirigama section of the Central Expressway within the next few weeks. Both parties have now reached a final agreement regarding the next steps of this unique project, which is being implemented with the financial contribution of the China Export-Import (Exim) Bank.

A high-level delegation led by Ms. Yang Dongning, Vice President of the China Exim Bank, recently visited Sri Lanka to review the financial and organizational aspects of the project. During their visit, they held extensive discussions with key government officials, including Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Anil Jayantha Fernando and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wijitha Herath. The primary focus of these discussions was the implementation of the new mechanisms contained in the revised financial agreement.

During these bilateral discussions, special attention was also paid to the payment of penalties incurred due to the project's delay for several years, as well as the increase in overall costs due to the depreciation of the Rupee over time. Internal government sources indicate that the current discussions concluded very successfully in arranging these additional costs and penalties under favorable terms and a flexible repayment basis, ensuring they do not burden the country.

Given the positive nature of these discussions with Exim Bank authorities, another Chinese delegation is expected to arrive in the island by the end of this month. They will bring with them the official revised agreement, including new repayment mechanisms, which both parties discussed and finalized this week, after which construction work will officially commence expeditiously.

This large-scale project, which is restarting with a US$ 500 million allocation from the China Exim Bank and a US$ 438 million financial contribution from the Government of Sri Lanka, is targeted to be fully completed by September 2028. China Metallurgical Corporation, which previously carried out construction here, is expected to continue as the main contractor.

All work on the 37-kilometer Kadawatha-Mirigama section of the Central Expressway system had been completely suspended from 2022 until now. Currently, the overall construction progress stands at 51%, and plans have been made to increase it to 65% by the end of 2026 after work resumes, complete between 90% and 95% of the project by the end of 2027, and finish the remaining small portion in 2028.

Official government sources state that a significant amount of time was taken to finalize this revised new agreement because all aspects and legal matters related to the project had to be discussed in an extremely meticulous and detailed manner. Nevertheless, the government is making maximum efforts to restore this stalled development work as quickly as possible to provide prompt relief to the public.