Skip to main content

Big East Asia backing for Colombo, Sri Lanka expressway and bridge projects

China Merchants Holdings (International) Company and China Merchants Hua Jian Highway Investment Company have Sri Lankan government approval to build and operate an expressway from the capital, Colombo, to the central part of the country. With the recently won approval, both companies would plan, design, finance, build and operate the first section of the US$4.5 billion Northern Expressway system. The $1.5 billion first section of the expressway will be built in four stages, namely from Ambepussa to Kandy
February 26, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
China Merchants Holdings (International) Company and China Merchants Hua Jian Highway Investment Company have Sri Lankan government approval to build and operate an expressway from the capital, Colombo, to the central part of the country. With the recently won approval, both companies would plan, design, finance, build and operate the first section of the US$4.5 billion Northern Expressway system.

The $1.5 billion first section of the expressway will be built in four stages, namely from Ambepussa to Kandy (46km), Pellendeniya to Dambulla (62km), Enderamulla to Ambepussa via Mirigama (53km), and Mirigama to Pellendeniya in Kurunegala (39km).

Remaining in Colombo, the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) will provide a $342.05 million loan to build a bridge over the Kelani River north of the city. Designed to handle projected traffic volumes from 2020 to 2035, the new bridge will link an expressway network to Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport. The 40-year loan is provided under the Special Terms for Economic Partnership (STEP), with a 10-year grace period, 0.1% annual interest and a 0.2% front-end fee.

Japan will also likely fund the first phase of a new mass rapid transit (MRT) network, and Sri Lanka is looking to build an elevated road network to deal with increasing traffic.

Related Content

  • US$3.4 billion Peru PPP road partnership
    April 11, 2024
    A US$3.4 billion Peru PPP road partnership deal has been awarded for Lima.
  • Road project for Kyrgyz Republic
    June 29, 2015
    Chinese banks are providing US$297 million in loans for road construction in the Kyrgyz Republic. The loan will be used to carry out Phase II of the programme to construct the new North-South road. The project is for the construction of the 96km Aral-Kazarman road and also includes building a 700m stretch of tunnel along the route as part of the works.
  • Contract awarded for key Vietnamese expressway
    July 17, 2014
    A consortium comprising local contractor Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (Cienco 4) and Japanese company Sumitomo Mitsui will carry out construction work on Vietnam’s new Ben Luc-Long Thanh expressway. This is the first package for the first phase of works on the expressway, with this tranche expected to cost in the region of US$1.6 billion. Vietnam’s Government is providing $337 million of the funding required. Some $635 million is coming in the shape of a loan from the Japan International Co-op
  • Funding programme for Sri Lankan rural roads
    November 21, 2019
    A new funding package has been agreed to help pay for Sri Lanka’s rural road development programme.