Funding for Central Expressway delayed

COLOMBO (News 1^st) - Reports indicate that the state is yet to receive funding (through loans) for the construction of the Central Expressway which is to take place in three phases. Plans had been made to swiftly complete construction of the Central Expressway from Kadawatha to Galagedara. Construction of phase one of the expressway, a 37 kilometer stretch from Kadawatha to Mirigama, is being undertaken by a Chinese company with funding from China's EXIM bank. However, the bank is yet to release the loan amount amounting to 158.4 billion Rupees and the construction company has commenced work on the project at their own cost. Phase two of the Central Expressway runs from Mirigama to Pothuhera. Work on this section of the expressway has been undertaken by four consortia of 16 local companies with financing from four local banks.The total loan amount for phase two of the project is 137.098 billion Rupees and the four local banks have already released close to 40 billion Rupees of this amount. While cabinet approval was granted to award the contract for phase 3 of the expressway from Pothuhera to Galagedara to Japan's Taisei corporation, the agreement is yet to be signed. According to the Road Development Authority, there have been delays in securing the release of the financing for phase three of the expressway amounting to 153 billion Rupees from Japan's Tokyo Mitsubishi Bank. In addition to the higher interest rate, the loan facility includes a 10.07% insurance premium, 1.1% arrangement fee and an additional commission of 0.25%. A senior official at the RDA noted that the Attorney General's Department is yet to grant approval for this loan facility. The awarding of the contract for phase 3 of the project to the Taisei corporation was also a matter of great interest in the recent past. Meanwhile, people who will lose their lands due to construction on phase three of the central expressway claim that a fair compensation mechanism is yet to be implemented. Amid the myriad of problems that have arisen, construction of the Central Expressway may not be completed within the given time frame. WATCH HERE: https://www.facebook.com/NewsfirstSL/videos/1921566207903628/