Deputy Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva said that the work on Rajagiriya Flyover, a major project in reducing traffic in Colombo, will begin in July 2016.

Updating a Facebook status, he added that the work is planned to be finished by January 2018.

The project is financed via a soft loan from the Government of Spain, he also said.

"Soil testing has already begun. Soon the detours will be announced." De Silva also said.

The Rajagiriya junction is a major bottleneck of traffic. The vehicle volume on a typical day in 90,000.

It is expected that the travel time from Battaramulla to Nelum Pokuna will be reduced by half after the flyover is constructed.