Govt. takes straight road on payments: Kabir

Wednesday, 6 June 2018 00:08 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Insists all payments for road projects on track including land takeovers
Only first phase of Central Expressway delayed but Chinese loan approval paves way for payments
Local contractors may get involved in Central Expressway to expedite completion
Minister denies all allegations related to knuckles range land

By Chathuri Dissanayake

Highways and Road Development Minister Kabir Hashim yesterday denied any delays in current road development projects undertaken by the Government.

The minister also sought to clarify that the ministry has taken steps to pay compensation for all lands repossessed by the Government for development projects, speaking at a press conference at his ministry. Hashim also insisted that his ministry had been prompt with payments for repossessions under the current Government.

“This ministry inherited a lot of the problems created by the last government. We have paid overdue compensation of over Rs. 10 billion for lands and homes repossessed under the last government,” he said.

In an effort to set the record straight, the Minister also said that most of the projects undertaken were progressing well.

According to Road Development Authority Chairman Nihal Sooriyaarachchi, work in most of the projects was well within schedule except for the first phase of the Central Expressway. The interruption in the project was caused due to a delay in processing the foreign loan obtained from the Chinese Government to fund the project, he said. Due to the delay the Government has been unable to pay the contractors involved in the project.

“It has been addressed now and we will be able to pay contractors. Due to the delay we may not be able to meet the completion timeline,” he said.

According to him, discussions are ongoing to see the possibility of local contractors getting involved to expedite the process, he said.

Denying all allegations leveled against him when he was the subject minister of the Public Enterprise Development Ministry on allocating lands of the Knuckles Range to parties close to him for commercial development projects, the Minister said that no gazette making such allocations existed.

“The only allocations that have been made is in the Alkaduwa Plantation, which have been loss-making. We are giving the land out on lease and Public Private Partnership projects to develop the land and generate an income,” he explained.

Hashim sought approval for the Alkaduwa plantation development project when he was the subject minister in charge of the loss-making enterprise.