President opens new facilities on Southern Expressway

President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday declared open several developments made to the Southern Expressway.

Among them were the new Kottawa Exchange which connects the Southern Expressway to the Outer Circle Expressway that is being built around the capital Colombo. The terminal will comprise five entries and eight exits.

The Southern Expressway will be connected to other expressways such as Colombo-Kandy Expressway and Colombo-Katunayake Airport Expressway that are currently under construction via the Colombo Outer Circle Expressway.

The President also opened the newly built rest area along the Southern Expressway. The rest area, built near Welipenna in the Kalutara district comprises restrooms, restaurants, supermarkets, service stations, clothing shops, children play area, coffee shops, parking areas, and fuel stations. The Southern Expressway will be extended up to Matara next year under its second stage.

Pix by Sudath Silva