Sri Lanka's Southern Expressway Earns Rs 151mn in Two Months. Average Daily Revenue Rs 2.5mn

08th February 2012, www.dailynews.lk, By Hemanthi Guruge

The Sri Lanka Government has earned over Rs 151 million from the Southern Expressway within two months of opening. The Southern Expressway is the first expressway in the country which was opened on November 27 last year. Southern Expressway Acting Director B.D.K Bandara told Daily News Business that Rs 70 million out of the total of Rs 151 million had been earned from the Southern Expressway during January. The administration records show an earning of Rs 4.6 million during the Independence Day.

The average daily revenue from the Southern Expressway is around Rs 2.5 million.

More than 530,000 vehicles have entered the Southern Expressway through eight interchanges within two months of opening.

Almost 96 vehicle accidents and 1,900 breakdowns have been reported within the second month of operation. Therefore RDA advises public to use vehicles that are in good condition.

A special bus service is being operated between Maharagama and Galle every forty minutes. A fare of Rs 400 is charged per passenger travelling from Maharagama to Galle, and vice versa.

The Southern Expressway will be linked to the Colombo- Katunayake Expressway, enabling a person to reach the Colombo airport from the Southern Province without going through Colombo. Construction of the next stage of the Expressway from Galle to Matara has already commenced.

The Southern Expressway from Pinnaduwa to Kottawa opened on November 27 enabling a motorist from Pinnaduwa to reach Kottawa within one hour.

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Sri Lanka Southern Expressway Nears Completion. Links Colombo to Matara

06th January 2011, www.lankabusinessonline.com

An expressway linking the Sri Lankan capital Colombo to the south is nearing completion with one section expected to be open to the public by June this year, a statement said.

Work on roads near three cricket World Cup venues is also being expedited to cater to the large numbers of local and foreign fans expected for the event, the statement from the President's media unit.

It said 80 percent of work on the Colombo - Matara expressway is over.

The expressway is 126 kilometres long and stretches from Makumbura in Kottawa, a southern suburb of Colombo, to Godagama in the southern province.

The first phase of the road, from Makumbura to Pinnaduwa, near the southern town of Galle, is expected to be open to the public by June this year, the statement quoted RDA officials as telling President Mahinda Rajapaksa during a meeting.

The expressway will have 11 entry and exit ramps.

The expressway at Makumbura connects to a ring road called Outer Circular Road being built around Colombo to divert traffic and ease congestion in the capital.

The statement also said 30 percent of work on another expressway connecting Colombo with the international airport in Katunayake to the north has been completed.

The Katunayake expressway is expected to be ready by the end of 2012.

Rajapaksa has asked for work to be speeed up on roads being built or repaired near three cricket World Cup venues, the statement said. Sri

Lanka will host 12 matches in Colombo, Kandy in the central hills and southern Hambantota. India and Bangladesh are the other hosts of the World Cup, which starts on February 19.

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Lands for Fruit & Vegetable Cultivation in Northern & Southern Provinces to be Released in Three Months

07th January 2011, www.dailynews.lk, By Indunil Hewage

All the uncultivated lands in the Northern and Southern provinces are to be released in three to four months to the private sector for vegetable and fruit cultivation. Measures are also being taken to increase the quantity of Sri Lankan fruit and vegetable production to be more competitive in the world market.

“The Economic Development Ministry has established a special scheme to release these lands for fruit and vegetable cultivation. Accordingly, we hope to make use of around 50,000 acres of uncultivated lands in the Southern province for the cultivation,” National Chamber of Exporters of Sri Lanka President Sarath de Silva told Daily News Business.

Recently the Government has allotted land in rural areas for the private sector to revive the agriculture industry. Several companies have submitted applications to the Economic Development Ministry and to the Board of Investment to obtain these lands to commence cultivation.

It is also planned to utilize uncultivated lands in the North Central Province to grow onions, potatoes and red chillies as the country spends Rs 3.5 billion to import these three food items annually.

He said Sri Lankan vegetable and fruits need to be high-tech and organic in order to increase production quantities. Private sector investments in the vegetable and fruit production sectors have to be encouraged to achieve US $ 20 billion total exports revenue target in the country. “Sri Lanka’s fruit and vegetable industry has been earning around Rs 3000 million annually. But we do not have sufficient production to export our products.

We need to increase our quantities to acquire a satisfactory share in the world market. In addition a 80 acre new farm in Hambantota has been set up to cater to the demand of increasing tourists arrivals to the country and surplus production in the farm is to be exported,” Silva said.

Galle Literary Festival 2010 is on - 28 January to 1 February 2010

28th January 2010, www.galleliteraryfestival.com

The Festival is upon us – our writers are en route, our performers in final rehearsals and our volunteers checking the best winds for kite flying on the ramparts of Galle Fort. The advance box offices are now closed in Galle and Colombo, as we prepare to move to the Festival site.

So come there directly and decide what to do on the day.

After Mohammed Hanif explodes mangoes, hear Wendy Cope’s two cures for love. Listen to Gillian Slovo’s version of growing up in the South Africa of Apartheid or Sybil Wettasinghe’s account of a childhood near Galle. Investigate the history of the conspiracy theory with Antony Beevor and hear the life sentence that Ian Rankin meted out to Inspector Rebus. Gather in the square for the best of Sri Lanka’s dance and drumming.

The Galle Literary Festival takes place in and around Galle Fort, the site of many landings on Sri Lanka’s southern coast. The Festival is both intimate and international, bringing together writers and audiences from around Sri Lanka and the world. You can walk through the Fort, from a literary conversation to an open air performance; or head from a long gourmet meal to the beach. The Festival includes four full days of events, a special Children’s Festival and this year an extra day dedicated to schoolchildren from Galle.

See you very soon,

Sunila Galappatti
Festival Director

Sri Lanka's Southern Rail Track to be Expedited Under Two Stages

24th November 2009, firstlanka.com

The Southern rail track project is to get underway in two stages for early conclusion. Development on the coastal railway line is to be expedited under two stages. The Ministry of Transport said development work on the first stage will begin next January on the railway track, between Galle and Matara.

The first stage of the reconstruction is to last four months. And transport between Galle and Matara will be suspended during this period.

A joint bus service will be conducted between Galle and Matara during this period for the convenience of passengers. A sum of 160 million Rupees is to be spent on the project. The Department of Railways says travelling time of train journey from Colombo to Matara will be shortened to two hours with the development of the coastal railway line. The Ruhunu Kumari train currently takes three hours and forty minutes to cover the distance.