o Displeased with strict conditions o Still evaluating REP says Ministry By Maheesha Mudugamuwa The Chinese contractor is likely to withdraw from the Ruwanpura Expressway Project (REP) Section 1 from Kahatuduwa to Ingiriya due to the strict conditions imposed by the Government, The Sunday Morning learnt. The China National Technical Import and Export Corporation (CNTIC) was awarded to construct the 26.3 km Section 1 of REP from Kahatuduwa to Ingiriya in 2016. Due to the economic crisis, the new conditions imposed by the Government included obtaining the full construction amount prior to starting the project and it also imposed a condition that the repayment of each loan should begin at least after five years after the commencement of construction. In addition, project construction should be completed within three years and during that time, the Government would not be obliged to pay any interest. Most importantly, the Government is focusing more on dollar loans coming into the country rather than other currencies, The Sunday Morning reliably learnt. It is learnt that the new conditions had been communicated to CNTIC during negotiations held recently, and the Chinese contractors did not so far agree to the new conditions. A senior officer at the Road Development Authority (RDA) who wished to remain anonymous told The Sunday Morning that with the new conditions, it would be difficult to find foreign partners for the projects. The REP from Kahatuduwa to Pelmadulla via Ratnapura (73.9 km) has been divided in to three sections for implementation purposes. Section 1 is from Kahatuduwa to Ingiriya (26.3 km), Section 2 from Ingiriya to Ratnapura (26.2 km), and Section 3 from Ratnapura to Pelmadulla (21.4 km). However, the Cabinet of Ministers on 26 July 2016 decided to divide the expressway into four sections and allocated each section to different contractors and proposed to invite proposals from them for the implementation of the project. However, there was no certainty of funding availability for any sections at the time. As per the cabinet memorandum dated 26 July 2016, CNTIC was the proposed contractor for Section 1 of the REP. Accordingly, the Request for Proposal (RFP) was sent to CNTIC on 1 November 2018 and evaluated by the Cabinet- Appointed Project Committee (CAPC). Nevertheless, Cabinet approval was granted as per the cabinet memorandum dated 27 February 2020, pertaining to the implementation of the construction of the proposed expressway networks in Sri Lanka, to authorise the Secretary of the Ministry of Highways to request CNTIC to provide 100% financing for the cost of Section 1 of the REP. The REP was detailed as having its original three sections. However, when contacted by The Sunday Morning, Highways Ministry Secretary Ranjith Premasiri noted that the Ministry and RDA were currently evaluating the REP.