Central Expressway project cost increases to over LKR 500 billion 

The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) has come across glaring irregularities in the execution of the Central Expressway project particularly because of construction delays, lack of proper procurement and feasibility studies.

This has resulted in extra cost of construction running up to billions of rupees giving undue benefits for some contractors and several foreign and local consultancy firms, a recent COPE report revealed.

Based on mathematical assumption, there was clear forensic evidence that such projects were 55 per cent costlier than those that were bid competitively in 2011.

According to the Chairman of COPE Prof. Charitha Herath, some of the feasibility study reports were of no use for the present expressway.

He stressed the importance of managing all future financial activities of the project properly as poor planning results in expensive changes to schedules, traces, relocations of interchanges and other critical control points.

A sum of LKR 1,759 million had been paid to an Australian company to conduct the feasibility study of the Central Expressway comprising four stages.

Without taking action to obtain feasibility reports from that company, agreements valued at LKR 97 million had been spent for several local institutions to further conduct feasibility studies, COPE divulged.

Another feasibility study was conducted for the construction of this expressway prior to 2012 at a cost of around LKR 284 million.

The delay in the commencement of work on the first section of the Central Expressway extending from Kadawatha to Mirigama between 2015 and 2019, had caused a financial loss of LKR 8 billion.

The progress report of COPE on the Central Expressway revealed that only 5 per cent of the work on the Kadawatha-Mirigama first section has been completed by China MCC and the work is now in progress.

81.44 per cent of the construction work on the second section of the project from Mirigama to Kurunegala had been completed. The total cost is around LKR 158 billion.

This 40.91 km stretch of road is divided into four sections and four consortiums of contractors have been awarded the contract.

Bids have been called for the third phase of the 31 km stretch from Pothuhera to Galagedera but construction commenced in December 2020 by Urban Development Authority (UDA) in haste at an estimated cost of LKR 142 billion.

The reason is not known for calling of bids at a time where the selection of foreign contractor is still pending but according to official sources if a foreign contractor is selected then the project would be handed over to them to carry out the balance work under BOT system.

The procurement process has not been completed yet due to irregularities in the procurement process in the third phase.

The Construction work of the fourth phase of the 60.3 km stretch of road from Kurunegala to Dambulla is yet to start.