President Anura Kumara Disanayake held a high-level meeting at the Presidential Secretariat on 28th of March with senior officials from the Ministry of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation, as well as the Ministry of Urban Development, Construction, and Housing.
During the discussion, the President directed officials to accelerate the construction of the Mirigama-Kadawatha section of the Central Expressway.
The meeting also focused on the Colombo Port Access Elevated Highway project, where strategies were discussed to quickly integrate its benefits into the national economy. Both short-term and long-term solutions were explored to address the challenges associated with the project.
To address Colombo’s traffic congestion, the group discussed upgrading the railway system and standardizing bus and road transportation services. A pilot project in the Colombo District was proposed as an initial step towards these improvements.
The development of multimodal transport hubs in Colombo, Kandy, Kurunegala, and Moratuwa was also discussed, with the aim of enhancing urban mobility and streamlining public transportation.
Additionally, the meeting focused on identifying underutilized lands owned by the Railway Department, aiming to implement management strategies to optimize their use for the national economy.
The meeting was attended by key figures, including Minister of Transport Bimal Rathnayake, Minister of Urban Development Anura Karunatilaka, Deputy Minister Dr. Prasanna Gunasena, Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, and other senior officials.
