Sri Lanka’s expressway network would take more than 171 years to repay the principal on its construction loans at current average earnings, and that calculation excludes interest altogether, according to a national audit observation reported on Monday.
Loans of Rs. 611.37 billion were raised from domestic and foreign sources to build the network, against an average annual net profit of about Rs. 3.56 billion, the Daily Mirror reported. The two figures divide to 171.7 years.
The audit found expressway income inadequate to meet both loan repayments and interest, with the shortfall met by allocations from the General Treasury — meaning general taxation, not toll revenue, is servicing the debt.
Management told auditors that toll charges had been held at relatively low levels as a public welfare measure, and that this policy had limited the revenue available to meet the projects’ financial obligations.
The audit recommended deploying modern technology to reduce operating costs alongside targeted measures to raise revenue, and called for stronger internal financial controls including proper procedures, formal written instructions and improved financial oversight. The review was conducted under Section 38(1) of the National Audit Act No. 19 of 2018.
Ticket irregularities
Separately, the audit found the Road Development Authority lost more than Rs. 4.614 billion in revenue through expressway ticket irregularities over four years and nine months, from November 2019 to July 2024.
More than 133.8 million entry tickets were issued in that period, but exit tickets were not issued for more than 18.2 million vehicles — about 13.6% of entries. Those two figures reconcile closely: Rs. 4.614 billion spread across 18.2 million vehicles implies roughly Rs. 253 of uncollected toll per vehicle, which is a plausible average fare.
One figure does not reconcile. The report also states the RDA was losing “close to Rs. 1 million” in expressway revenue each day. Rs. 4.614 billion spread over a period of four years and nine months works out to about Rs. 2.66 million a day — roughly 2.7 times the stated daily figure. The Daily Mirror does not explain the gap, and it is not clear whether the daily number refers to a narrower subset of the losses or a different period. LankaNewz has reported both figures as published rather than reconciling them.
The audit report itself has not been published in full, and the Daily Mirror does not name the audited entity for the loan findings or give the period over which the Rs. 3.56 billion average was struck.
