Pettah will be made the main transportation hub from which buses will be deployed to all expressways, Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said.

He made these comments at a function held to vest the Meegoda Attygala Road with the public recently.

Speaking further he said that the first land auction of the Port Authority will be held next year.

He also said it is planned to build seven railway lines connecting Colombo and suburban cities within the next five years.       

“The ministry is developing Colombo under a planned system and within the next 10 years Colombo city will see a great change. The highest number of cranes used in a city in South Asia is in Colombo with 96 high-end projects being carried out by the Road Development Authority (RDA). The highest growth also was recorded in the construction sector,” the Minister said.

 “The first land auction will be started in the port city. The earlier agreement was changed to suit the requirements of the country. All issues have been sorted and the government started the financial city project,” he added.

“We will connect the port city to the expressways. A new road will be built from Ingurukade junction, through the port to Fort, from Malwatta road and it will be connected to the Railway station. The Charmer’s gallery consisting of nine acres will be constructed as an economic complex and will be known as Colombo Gate. From there anyone can go to the port or to the expressway to go to any place .We will build a road from where expressway buses can enter the main transport hub. The first step of this project was started with the implementation of priority lane for buses”, he added.