Dailymirror.lk:
The government and the opposition locked horns in Parliament yesterday over the construction cost of the Siyambalanduwa-Akkaraipattu road via Potuvil which is as high as Rs. 50 million a kilometre.Deputy Economic Development Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardane, in response to a question by UNP MP Dayasiri Jayasekara, revealed that Rs. 3487 million had been spent on the road which is 78.5 kilometres long. The road has been constructed using financial aid from the Asian Development Bank and the European Commission under a project meant for the development of the tsunami affected areas.
Mr. Jayasekara, raising a supplementary question, asked how the cost could be as high as Rs. 50 million a kilometre.
“We are surprised about such massive costs involved in road constructions. We need a clarification in this regard,” Mr. Jayasekara said.
Mr. Abeywardane replied that the road had not been repaired for a long time, and the high cost was partly due to that. Also, he said there were 170 culverts and 38 bridges along the road.
“We had to repair all of them new. I can give all the details with regard to the cost. I can explain one by one if you want,” the Deputy Minister said.
A few weeks ago, Mr. Jayasekara questioned about the spending of a whopping Rs. 40 million for the mending of an access road in the Panduwasnuwara area in the Kurunegala district , which is only one kilomtres and 700 metres.