The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake - Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development and the Leader of the House of Parliament
The Minister stated that the Heda Oya (Atimunei) and Bryanthurai Kandam River bridges are on roads outside the Road Development Authority’s purview, though RDA prepared designs and estimates in 2013 and invited tenders in 2014 without awarding a contract. He said the Heda Oya bridge was later proposed under the Rural Bridges Programme in 2021, but work stopped during the economic crisis when the State Development and Construction Corporation halted activities. Steps are now being taken to redesign and tender the Heda Oya bridge through the RDA for implementation in early 2026, while no decision has been taken to include the Bryanthurai Kandam River bridge in RDA plans.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 The answer is as follows:
¶ 02 (a) (i) Both bridges are on roads not under the purview of the Road Development Authority (RDA). In 2013, the RDA prepared designs and estimates. Tenders were invited on 01.12.2014 and opened on 23.12.2014; however, no contract was awarded by the RDA for construction.
¶ 03 (ii) Yes. The Heda Oya (Atimunei) bridge was proposed in 2021 under the Ministry’s Rural Bridges Programme, with the State Development and Construction Corporation (SD&CC) as contractor. During the economic crisis period of 2021/2022, SD&CC halted activities. No steps have been taken by the RDA regarding the proposed Bryanthurai Kandam River bridge as that road is not under RDA.
¶ 04 (b) (i) Yes. Steps are being taken to restart the Heda Oya (Atimunei) bridge. It has been programmed for redesign and tendering under the RDA, with implementation targeted for early 2026.
¶ 05 (ii) The Bryanthurai Kandam River bridge is not included in the RDA’s forward plans at present.
¶ 06 (c) A decision has not yet been taken to include the Bryanthurai Kandam River bridge project.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Saturday, 8 November 2025 ·No. 22727 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake - Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development and the Leader of the House of Parliament. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 8 November 2025. No. 22727. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/6440