by Melani Manel Perera

Costing 291 million US dollars , the Colombo- Katunayake Expressway will improve traffic flow and will lead directly to the nation’s international airport. Since the end of the civil war (2009 ), Beijing has emerged as Sri Lanka’s primary financer, with investments of billions of dollars in major projects. Among these, a coal fired power plant and a port.

Colombo ( AsiaNews ) - The Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday inaugurated the country's second highway, built thanks to a China's massive investment. The ceremony was attended by ministers and officials of the Chinese embassy in Colombo. Costing $ 291 million , the Colombo- Katunayake Expressway will improve traffic flow between the two cities , reducing transit times by 20 minutes. The highway also leads to the international airport of Bandaranayaike and has four interchanges: at Peliyagoda , Kerawalapitiya , Jael and Katunayake . As of 6pm yesterday - the official opening - the government has already earned 2.3 million rupees (about 12,700 Euros ), thanks to the motorway tolls .

Sri Lanka organized a number of initiatives to celebrate the opening of the highway, including bicycle races and concerts. For the first time the country also hosted an elephant race.

Beijing funded the highway with a loan from the China Export Import Bank ( Exim ) . Construction began in August 2009 (a few months after the end of the Civil War , ed) and the opening was scheduled for last July. However , Colombo decided to postpone the opening to October 27 , closer to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting ( CHOGM) , which will be held in Sri Lanka in November.

As soon as the thirty-year ethnic conflict ended, China emerged as a major donor and investor in the island, with loans of $ 1.2 billion in 2009 and 821 million dollars in 2010 . In 2011, the "contribution" fell to 784.7 million dollars, but the Asian giant remains Sri Lanka's largest trading partner, with investments in almost all major projects currently in progress according to the data of the Sri Lankan Ministry of Finance.

These project include the construction of a coal fired power station in the north- west ($ 1.3 billion) and more infrastructure in the south of the country for a total value of $ 4 billion . Among them, a port (1.2 billion dollars).

China is also one of the financiers of the Southern Expressway, Sri Lanka's first highway opened in 2011.

 

• sri
• lanka
• china
• investment
• infrastructure
• highway