Sri Lanka: Matara-Kataragama railway line to cost SR 30-bn

Colombo: The Sri Lanka Railway Department hopes to begin work on the Matara-Kataragama railway line in the deep-south next year but stated that the estimated cost of Rs.30 billion needed for this project depends on the availability of government funding.


Railway Department General Manager T. L. Gunaruwan said that the Railway Department would be focusing on the coastline making it their top priority.


Meanwhile Director, Planning and Project Implementation, Ministry of Transport, Jayantha Gunatileke said that the Matara-Kataragama railway line project will be split in two stages and will begin as soon as the government decides on a donor country.


Stage One, which is expected to take one and a half years to complete will be from Matara to Beliatta and the second stage from Beliatta to Kataragama will take another three years.


Prospective donor countries include Australia, Malaysia, India, Japan, Alaska and China.
Gunatileke said the cabinet and the treasury were looking at the proposals by these countries and that a final decision will be taken on November 23 but that it would take a further three to six months before any work could begin.


If and when work on this railway line begins thousands of squatters who have set up houses close to the railway will have to evacuate according to Gunaruwan.


Gunaruwan said, 'When it comes to development, especially the development of roads and railway lines, resettlement is inevitable.'


The Railway Department has found itself in a tight spot in recent times with issues ranging from running at a loss due to low tariff rates, to not being able to meet its fuel costs and cutting down on its engines, some of which are decades old.