The construction of the Colombo Port Access Elevated Highway (PAEH) will be completed by September 2024, Minister of Transport and Highways Bandula Gunawardena stated.
Minister Gunawardena stated that nearly 70 per cent of the construction work has been completed as of now, adding that the remaining construction is being conducted expeditiously.
The Minister further said the Port Access Elevated Highway connecting the Colombo Port Complex with the country’s highway network, is one of the largest construction projects currently being carried out in Sri Lanka.
Stating that the estimated investment for the project is 360.2 million US dollars, he added that an expenditure of USD 60.2 million be incurred by the government, while the Asian Development Bank will provide a concessional loan amount of 300 million dollars.
The Minister made the remarks to the media yesterday (July 09) after inspecting the ongoing construction work of the Port Access Elevated Highway.
The construction of the Port Access Elevated Highway is being carried out by China Civil Engineering Construction Company.
The Colombo Port Access Elevated Highway is a 5.27-kilometre-long road connecting the New Kelani Bridge to the Colombo Port and consists of a four-lane highway that is 25 meters wide.
It will connect to the New Kelani Bridge at the Ingurukade intersection and from there onward to the Colombo Port City, which will be connected by 22 bridges which will be built entirely on pillars.
The project will see the New Kelani Bridge directly connecting to the Colombo-Katunayake Expressway on the north side and extending to the Orugodawatta intersection on the south side.
Connecting the New Kelani Bridge with the Colombo Port Access Elevated Highway is expected to allow travel to the outskirts of Colombo without much congestion. (NewsWire)
