Phase 2 of Outer Circular HIGHWAY to open for public in June

The second phase of the Outer Circular Highway (OCH) is to be open for public use in June, the Road Development Authority (RDA) yesterday said.

Construction of the second phase from Kaduwela to Kadawatha, a 14.3 km stretch, began in 2012. The 4-lane expressway is to have 3 toll buildings and 6 toll plazas. 97% of the USD 44.88 billion project was completed, the authority said.

An RDA official speaking to the Daily Mirror said that construction of the main road was complete and said they were now engaged in completing small scale construction such as barriers and signs.

Speaking of the third phase of the project, connecting Kadawatha and Kerawalapitiya, the Highways and Investment Promotion Ministry said construction was scheduled to begin this month.

The 9.32 km road is estimated to cost Rs. 66,689 million, 95% of which will be covered by a loan from China. The Ministry stated that land acquisition for the project was in its final phase, and that Rs. 1,100 million would be paid in this regard.

The project, which was amended after it was reviewed by a Review Committee

The 4-lane expressway is to have 3 toll buildings and 6 toll plazas. 97% of the USD 44.88 billion project was completed

appointed to evaluate technical and financial aspects of projects, received Cabinet approval on April 22.

The Outer Circular Highway, located in the Colombo Metropolitan Region passes through two administrative districts - Colombo and Gampaha. With a total length of 29.2 km, the northern end of the Highway is located at Kerawalapitiya on the ColomboKatunayake Expressway, while the southern end is located at Kottawa road where Southern Expressway meets OCH.

The OCH is to be developed as a 4-lane Highway with provision for future expansion to six lanes. The design speed of the Highway is 100 km/h.