10th Parliament· 154 sittings on record · 30,475 speeches · latest 10 June 2026

The Hon. Rohitha Abeygunawardhana

New Democratic Front· Kalutara· 20 June 2025 ·Oral question: Oral Question: Southern Expressway Interchanges (Q.Unspecified/2024)

Infrastructure
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Rohitha Abeygunawardhana said the 21 km gap between the Gelanigama and Dodangoda interchanges on the Southern Expressway creates a significant access problem for residents and nearby economic activity. He asked the Minister whether the Government would proceed with the proposed Pelpola Interchange, noting that land has been acquired, funds allocated, and that it would serve an adjacent industrial zone and Investment Board-related needs.

Verbatim record (translated)

Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English

¶ 01 Hon. Minister, thank you for the reply. According to your answer, Gelanigama–Dodangoda is the longest gap between interchanges on the Southern Expressway, at 21 km. This creates a major access constraint for people in that region. Due to a mistake by a political leader during our Government’s time, this situation arose — I say this humbly, even though I reside nearby and it could have benefited me.

¶ 02 On the Pelpola Interchange road, there is an industrial zone on one side. The interchange was requested to meet the needs of the people and the zone, and funds have been allocated. Now that land has been acquired and money committed, will you proceed with the Pelpola implementation to meet the needs of the Investment Board and the industrial zone?

Provenance

Source
Hansard, Friday, 20 June 2025 ·No. 1751600792021434 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Permalink
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Cite as: The Hon. Rohitha Abeygunawardhana. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 20 June 2025. No. 1751600792021434. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/1869