Minister Sunil Handunnetti compares Sri Lanka’s expressways to the body’s circulatory system, stressing that without fast transport, investments cannot flow into the country.
Minister of Transport Sunil Handunnetti said that his government is prioritizing the rapid construction of expressways because they form the backbone of national development. According to him, if an investor spends three hours traveling from Colombo to Kandy, he values that wasted time in dollars, making expressways essential for attracting serious investment to Sri Lanka.
He explained that while he never opposed the idea of expressways under the previous administration, he strongly opposed the waste and mismanagement that surrounded those projects. Handunnetti emphasized that infrastructure must be built with purpose and efficiency, not as vanity projects.
The minister also criticized the way Hambantota’s port and airport were developed without corresponding industries to generate economic activity. He noted that because of this lack of planning, the current government has been forced to fill in the gaps and implement strategies to maximize the value of those assets.
Speaking during a program on National Television, Handunnetti underscored that effective transportation infrastructure, especially a functioning expressway system, is the key to moving Sri Lanka’s economy forward.
