Work on the Stage 2 of the Central Expressway project will commence on February 1 in Mirigama under the auspices of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. The section extending from Mirigama to Kurunegala will be constructed by a consortium of four local contractors, the first time a project of such magnitude has been handled by local contractors.
“The section will be constructed by local companies as opposed to foreign contractors as done previously,” said the Chairman of the Road Development Authority, Nihal Sooriyaarachchi.
The estimated cost of construction has been at Rs. 4 billion.
The section will be 40 kilometres in length and will consist of four lanes divided two ways with four interchanges in Mirigama, Nakulugamuwa, Pothuhera, Dambokka and Kurunegala.
According to Sooriyarachchi, the construction work of Section 2 is set to be completed in 2019 while Minister of Higher Education and Highways Lakshman Kiriella has assured that the construction of all highways will be completed by 2020 and the Central Expressway project will be completed by the end of 2019.