MG Consultants lead consulting agency for further development of Southern Highway

From left: Procurement Specialist V. Athukotale, Project Director W.K. Kodituwakku, RDA Chairman Prof. J.M.S.J. Bandara, MG Consultants CEO Nalini Senasekera, MG Consultants Managing Director Ranjith Gunaratne and Engineering Consultants Managing Director Prabhath Jayasundara

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The Southern Highway has greatly enhanced connectivity and convenience for vehicular traffic between Colombo and the Deep South, but while the main highway has undoubtedly been a boon for travel and trade, further development was needed to ensure that access routes to the highway also reflected similar superior construction standards. 

This much-needed commencement of the Southern Highway-centred development received the green light recently with the signing of the agreement for construction supervision between the Road Development Authority (RDA) and MG Consultants Ltd. (MGC), in association with Engineering Consultants Ltd. (ECL).

MGC has supported development initiatives in the country by providing consulting services to many large and complex projects funded by Government agencies, major donor organisations, and international development organisations to make a tangible contribution to the socioeconomic growth of the country.

The Southern Road Connectivity Project (SRCP) is undertaking the development which is funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The executing agency for the project is the Ministry of Highways and Investment Promotion and the implementing agency is the RDA. In addition to the capacity improvement of the selected national highways, the SRCP will enhance the capacity of the RDA in planning and implementation of improvement in expressway connectivity.

The five national highways which will benefit from the rehabilitation work are the Southern Expressway to Madurugoda, Kesbewa to Pokunuwita, Kirulapona to Homagama, Ratmalana to Mirihana and Moratuwa to Piliyandala.The total length of the road sections to be improved span 33.2 km. 

The two main additional deliverables in the proposed development are the provision of scooter/cycle lanes to mitigate accidents and the enhancement of electronic monitoring of roads, especially at intersections, in order to prevent road safety violations.

The proposed national highway improvement and rehabilitation is expected to cause some extent of replacement of commercial or residential buildings and might necessitate land acquisition in the immediate vicinity of the construction site. 

Being cognisant of this possibility and the need for an inclusive community-centric approach, relevant training programs will be conducted for the communities in tandem with the provision of assistance for their economic and social re-establishment. The training programs will encompass aspects such as road safety awareness, skills development and financial management, and will be undertaken by MGC in accordance with the terms of agreement.

MGC functions as the lead consultancy firm for the Southern Road Connectivity Project and is proud to be contributing to government development initiatives. MG Consultants bring extensive experience in construction supervision and expansion of road network in Sri Lanka, having provided construction supervision for projects funded by both international donor agencies such as ADB, JBIC, Saudi Fund and the Government of Sri Lanka. The reputed consulting company is poised to expand its business to the South-East Asian region in the near future.