Sri Lanka is a beautiful island country, known as the “Gem
of the Indian Ocean”. This beautiful country had suffered
from war. The civil war lasted for 26 years. In the early
post-war period, the entire country was devastated and
left to be rebuilt. There was an urgent need for Sri Lankan
people to rebuild their homes and develop economy.
The friendship between China and Sri Lanka has a long
history. Zheng He, who was the great navigator and
diplomatic officer in ancient China, made seven voyages
to the West and arrived the island in early fifteenth
century. The stele left behind by Zheng He’s fleet is now in
the Sri Lanka National Museum. Sri Lanka is also a must
pass hub through the ancient Maritime Silk Road. After the
founding of the People’s Republic of China, ” the Ceylon-
China Rubber-Rice Pact ” opened a new chapter in the
friendship between two countries.
As the pioneer and practitioner of “go global” strategy
and play as a main force in the international construction
field, Metallurgical Corporation of China Ltd. began to
explore the Sri Lankan market in 2008, starting with
infrastructure and livelihood projects, actively contributing
to Sri Lanka’s post-war economy reconstruction.
Starting from improving people’s livelihood in Sri
Lanka and focusing on road infrastructure connectivity,
MCC has completed (or under construction) Colombo-
Katunayake Airport Expressway, Outer Circular Highway
Northern Section II, Central Expressway Project Section I
and other large and medium-sized projects.
It is worth mentioning that the Colombo-Katunayake
2
Airport Expressway Project, which was commenced in
2009 and completed in 2013, adopts Chinese standards
on the basis of engineering, procurement and
construction, which is known as the “Road of Friendship
between China and Sri Lanka”. This highway won China
Construction Engineering Luban Prize（National Prime-
quality Project） for overseas projects in 2014, the
Shanghai Civil Engineering Society Engineering Award in
2021, and the China Civil Engineering Zhan Tianyou
Award in 2022.
On October 27 th 2013, the opening ceremony of
Colombo-Katunayake Airport Expressway Project was
grandly held, and then President Mahinda Rajapaksa
delivered a warm speech at the celebration of ten
thousand people.
He reviewed the fervent expectations of the Sri
Lankan people for this road for nearly 50 years, and spoke
highly of MCC’s best equipment and technology to
complete the project with high standards. MCC team had
proven themselves with excellent manufacturing and
quality. This project has become the pride and symbol of
quality of MCC Sri Lanka.
(Colombo-Katunayake Airport Expressway opened to
traffic in October 2013)
3
President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping
visited Sri Lanka in 2014 and published an article in Daily
News：Let Us Become Partners in Pursuit of Our Dreams,
putting forward a bright vision for the common
development of China and Sri Lanka. He also raised
expectations for Chinese enterprises in Sri Lanka.
Based on this background, MCC has fulfilled its
responsibility as a Chinese enterprise and has always
worked with all sectors of Sri Lanka to overcome
difficulties and develop together. On 21 st April 2019, Sri
Lanka Easter Bombings shocked the world, killing 253
people (including 6 Chinese citizens) and more than 500
were injured. MCC tried best to participate in the
assistance to Sri Lanka and donated 2 million rupees to
the victims’ families.
In 2020, when COVID-19 swept across the world, MCC
purchased a large amount of medical equipment from
China at the very first time and made an emergency
donation to Sri Lankan government with total value of
about 15 million rupees.
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa attended the donation
ceremony and posted MCC’s donation on his Twitter and
Facebook. In July 2021, MCC once again donated
medical equipment to the Sri Lankan army, police and
temples to help Sri Lanka overcome the epidemic. In
addition, MCC has cumulatively created over 7,000 jobs
for local people since 2008.
4
（On 1 st of April, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa
attended the donation ceremony of anti-COVID
equipment）
Following Colombo-Katunayake Airport Expressway
project, MCC Sri Lanka made persistent efforts to sign
Outer Circular Highway Northern Section II (OCH NS-II)
Project in 2013. The project started in January 2016. The
project was handed over and opened to traffic in October
2019, 1 month in advance of the request.
At the opening ceremony, then Prime Minister Ranil
Wickremesinghe spoke highly of the project. Outer
Circular Highway Northern Section II and Colombo-
Katunayake Airport Expressway constitute an important
transportation network in the Sri Lankan capital economic
circle, contributing to the development of tourism,
economy and people’s lives.
The success of this project is inseparable from the
dedication of MCC team. Some staff have been working in
this land of Sri Lanka for more than ten years. They gave
full play to the unremitting spirit of MCC, and once again
proved their capability with quality and speed.
In 2015, MCC stood out among many bidders and signed
the contract for Central Expressway Project Section I with
Road Development Authority, with a total length of 36.59
5
kilometers.
The project is part of the central expressway network
planned by the Sri Lankan government. After completion,
it will connect Colombo and the central holy city Kandy,
and realize the interconnection with the Colombo-
Katunayake Airport Expressway, Outer Circular Highway
and the Southern Expressway, to make a smooth
connection of the local express network.
The project was financed by the Export-Import Bank
of China and is a key networking project in Sri Lanka.
After hard prepared works, the project officially started
construction on September 15 th , 2020. Affected by the
epidemic and the economic crisis in Sri Lanka, the
implementation of the project has run into difficulties. By
optimizing the construction organization arrangement and
adjusting the production process, MCC minimized the
impact of various unfavorable factors and ensured the
normal construction of the project as much as possible.
MCC will fulfill its mission and take the well-being of
the Sri Lankan people as its own responsibility, and build
Central Expressway Project Section I with higher
requirements and efficiency, and make MCC an excellent
brand of highway construction shines in South Asia.
