The Cabinet has approved a Rs. 1,098.5 million project to rehabilitate and upgrade the road lighting system along the Colombo–Katunayake Expressway (CKE), the Ministry of Transport and Highways said, after theft and vandalism left almost 85% of the lighting inactive and raised safety concerns for motorists.
The project will be executed in two packages under the National Competitive Procurement Procedure. In the first stage, lighting will be reinstated at the Peliyagoda, Kerawalapitiya, Seeduwa and Ja-Ela interchanges, including the Kerawalapitiya Interchange that has emerged as a key approach to Colombo from the airport corridor.
The second stretch covers the section running from the new Kelani Bridge to the Peliyagoda Fish Market and from Seeduwa to Bandaranaike International Airport, restoring continuous illumination along the country’s busiest expressway connector to the international gateway.
The proposal was tabled by the Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development and approved by Cabinet on Tuesday (2), Newswire reported. The Ministry confirmed contractors will be selected through competitive procurement. Cabinet spokesperson Nalinda Jayatissa told reporters that lighting the entire expressway was cost-prohibitive, so the first phase covers the interchanges and the two stretches most heavily trafficked from Colombo’s central business district to the airport, EconomyNext said.
The lighting rehabilitation comes alongside Sri Lanka’s broader expressway portfolio work, which includes the Rs. 112 billion Rambukkana–Galagedara section of the Central Expressway and the year-end rollout of the automated tolling system. The CKE produced part of the Rs. 16.3 billion expressway revenue recorded in 2025, against Rs. 5.2 billion in maintenance spending.
