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Expressways are among the most closely watched promises in Sri Lankan politics, and every new announcement sparks debate about cost, debt, and priorities. So, when the government said it would study extending the Katunayake Expressway to Chilaw, a website called Mawrata quickly went further, declaring that this would be the last expressway Sri Lanka would ever build. We checked whether that was ever an official decision. Here is the post that carried the claim.
Social Media Posts:
The news post was headlined, “Anura decides to take the Katunayake highway all the way to Chilaw. That is the last highway to be built in Lanka.” The body of the article also stated, “This will be the final expressway development project undertaken under the current government.”
Fact-Check:
If the government had decided to extend the expressway network from Katunayake to Chilaw and had declared Sri Lanka’s final expressway, mainstream media and official sources would have reported it. We found that the government had announced plans to start work on the Katunayake-Chilaw Expressway along with several other expressways. No source confirmed or reported that it would be the country’s last expressway, or the last one built under this government.
A Feasibility Study Has Begun on Extending the Katunayake Expressway to Chilaw
Mainstream media reported that Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development Bimal Rathnayake told Parliament on September 8, 2026, that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake had instructed officials to begin planning the proposed Katunayake-Chilaw Expressway.
None of these reports described it as Sri Lanka’s final expressway or the last expressway project of the current government. They also noted that the government was preparing to begin construction on the Kurunegala-Galewela and Kahathuduwa-Ingiriya expressway sections in November and December 2026. Media reports are available here and here.
What Minister Bimal Rathnayake Told Parliament on September 8
“Expressways are massive projects that need huge sums of money. We are starting several expressways this year. In November and December, we will begin the Kurunegala-Galewela section of the Kurunegala-Dambulla Expressway. We will also begin the Kahathuduwa-Ingiriya Expressway in November or December. His Excellency the President also instructed us to begin the planning needed to build an expressway from Katunayake to Chilaw. We have now instructed the RDA to begin the feasibility study. We hope to extend the expressway from Katunayake to an area a little beyond Chilaw, near the Thoduwawa bridge. We have also proposed studying whether an expressway network centered on Anuradhapura can be started, because all of these will have to be connected someday, but if we try to connect them from Colombo, some of them will be hard to afford economically. We are continuing to build the Kadawatha-Mirigama section, and we can finish it by May 2028. We will finish Pothuhera-Rambukkana around April 2027. There was a small delay because of asphalt problems, but we can complete the Pothuhera-Rambukkana section by April 2027. By May 2029 we will have completed all of these, except Kurunegala-Galewela. I think we can finish that before 2030 as well.”
The Minister Never Said, or Implied, That the Chilaw Extension Would Be the Last Expressway
The key points of Minister Bimal Rathnayake’s statement to Parliament on expressways were:
- Katunayake-Chilaw Expressway: On the President’s instructions, a feasibility study had begun on extending the expressway from Katunayake to Chilaw (near the Thoduwawa bridge).
- Kurunegala-Dambulla Expressway (Kurunegala-Galewela section): Construction was due to begin in November.
- Kahathuduwa-Ingiriya Expressway: Work was planned to begin in November or December.
- Anuradhapura-centered expressway network: A study was under way on starting an expressway network centered on Anuradhapura.
Timeline for Completing Ongoing Expressway Construction
- Kadawatha-Mirigama section: Expected to be completed by May 2028.
- Pothuhera-Rambukkana section: Expected to be completed by April 2027, despite a delay caused by an asphalt shortage.
- Overall completion: All sections except Kurunegala-Galewela were planned for completion by May 2029, with Kurunegala-Galewela expected before 2030.
The statement made clear that, beyond the Katunayake-Chilaw Expressway, the government also planned an Anuradhapura-centered expressway network, the Kurunegala-Galewela section of the Kurunegala-Dambulla Expressway and the Kahathuduwa-Ingiriya Expressway, with feasibility studies already started for some of them.
Earlier, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said work on three expressways would begin next year using only domestic funds, without any foreign loans, and that work on two roads had already started. He made this statement at a public rally in Bulathsinhala on September 6, 2026, naming the Galagedara-Rambukkana, Ingiriya-Kahathuduwa and Kurunegala-Galewela expressways. More details are available here and here.
Presidential Media Division Confirmed the Claim Is False
We asked the Presidential Media Division about the post claiming that the Katunayake-Chilaw Expressway, for which feasibility studies had begun, would be Sri Lanka’s final expressway and the last expressway project of this government. The Division said the section had not been designated as either, and that the circulating posts were false.
Transport Ministry Confirmed More Expressways Are Planned
We also contacted the media secretary to Minister Bimal Rathnayake, who said the claim in the post was false. He explained that on September 8, the Minister spoke in Parliament for the first time about upcoming expressway projects and said the President had instructed officials to carry out feasibility studies on extending the expressway to Chilaw. He stressed that it had not been declared the final expressway project of the country or of this government and noted that the Minister had also outlined several further plans to expand the expressway network.
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Conclusion:
Our fact-check found that the news post describing the planned Katunayake-Chilaw expressway section as the last expressway to be built in Sri Lanka, and the final expressway project of the current government, was misleading. A feasibility study on the section began on the President’s instructions, but both the Ministry of Transport, Highways and Urban Development and the Presidential Media Division confirmed it had not been declared the country’s or the government’s final expressway.
In his September 8 statement to Parliament, Minister Bimal Rathnayake set out several other expressway plans alongside the Katunayake-Chilaw section. A study was also under way on an Anuradhapura-centered expressway network, construction on the Kurunegala-Galewela section was due to begin in November, and the Kahathuduwa-Ingiriya section was planned to begin in November or December.
Title: Katunayake-Chilaw Expressway Not Declared Sri Lanka’s Final Expressway, Claim Misleading
Fact Check By: B.P. Hansani
Result: Misleading
