Mar 16, Colombo: Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa is scheduled to declare open the newly built Kalladi Bridge in Batticaloa on March 22, Sri Lanka Ministry of Highways announced.

The new Kalladi Bridge, connecting the North and South of Batticaloa on the Akkaraipattu-Batticaloa-Thirukkondiadimadu road, is constructed to replace the old Kalladi Bridge that was built by the British 70 years ago.

The project to construct the 288.35 meter long and 16.5 meter wide bridge cost Rs. 2.6 billion and it was funded by the Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA).

The project began in 2007 but it was delayed by the original contractor and the government decided to entrust the construction work to a new contractor to complete the task.

The President observed the progress in construction September last year.

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