The Cabinet has approved awarding a Rs. 791.68 million contract, excluding tax, to Asset Engineering (Pvt) Ltd to rebuild the Blackpool–Ambewela–Pattipola–Horton Plains road, EconomyNext reported on Tuesday.
Cabinet spokesperson Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said tenders were called for the stretch of the B512 road running from the km 5+200 mark to the km 12+000 mark. Four bids were received, and Asset Engineering was the lowest responsive bidder.
The road was damaged during Cyclone Ditwah, which EconomyNext dates to 10 months ago — placing the damage in late 2025, when the storm caused destruction across all 25 districts.
What the numbers imply
The tendered section spans the 6.8 kilometres between the two stated markers. At Rs. 791.68 million, that works out to roughly Rs. 116 million per kilometre — a rate that reflects the difficulty of highland road construction at elevations above 1,800 metres, where the route crosses the Ambewela and Pattipola plateau before reaching the national park.
The B512 is the principal vehicle approach to Horton Plains National Park from the Nuwara Eliya side, and carries the bulk of visitor traffic to World’s End. Its condition matters to tourism as well as to the farming communities along the Ambewela–Pattipola corridor.
The award comes weeks after park authorities set out plans for daily visitor caps, time-slot booking and an electric shuttle intended to keep private vehicles out of the park itself.
Not reported
EconomyNext does not give a construction timeline or completion date, the values of the three unsuccessful bids, or which agency will supervise the works. It also does not say whether the remaining sections of the B512 outside the km 5+200–12+000 window are scheduled for repair.
