Manmunai Bridge, connects Batticaloa and Ampara Districts on 19 April
Saturday, 5 April 2014 00:00
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President Mahinda Rajapaksa will declare open the newly constructed Manmunai Bridge in Batticaloa on 19 April. The new bridge across the Batticaloa lagoon on the Thalankuda-Manmunai-Mavadimunmari road has been constructed at a cost of Rs. 1. 870 billion.
This will fulfil a long felt need of the people in the Eastern Province, Ports, Highways and Shipping Project Minister Nirmala Kothalawala said.
The new bridge plays an important role in connecting the Batticaloa District with the Ampara District. Until the construction of new bridge, the people used the ferry service to cross the Batticaloa lagoon. The newly constructed Manmunai Bridge will make river crossings easier, whereas ferries took hours, the Minister added.
According to a report by Daily News, the bridge, which is 210 metres in length and 9.8 metres wide, has been constructed utilising Rs. 397 million of local funds and Rs. 1.473 billion under grant aid from Japan through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
In line with the construction of the bridge, a new causeway with an average length of 488 metres and 10 metres in width has also been constructed on either side of the bridge to access to the new bridge.
The people living in both the Batticaloa and Ampara Districts will be directly benefited by this project. It is also expected to improve the market approachability via facilitating transportation at a low cost. This project would also facilitate people mobility while rapidly improving basic social infrastructure, community and public services to a large number of people living in the east.
