An audit report for 2024 has raised serious concerns over repeated thefts of electrical cables, copper wires, streetlight poles and other equipment from the Colombo-Katunayake Expressway, warning that the cost of repairing the resulting damage could exceed Rs 1.77 billion.

According to the report, 100 theft incidents were recorded on the Expressway between 2021 and 2023. The estimated value of 11 of these thefts was Rs 580 million, while the value of the remaining 89 incidents had not been determined.

The audit found that the design of the Expressway’s electrical cable system had made the cables vulnerable to theft. Cables laid along the median had been partially covered using Hume pipes with a semi-circular diameter of approximately three feet, instead of being fully enclosed in concrete.

A field inspection conducted during the audit had found that the arrangement left the electrical cables exposed to a level where they could be easily cut and removed.

The report also pointed to the absence of an appropriate security mechanism since the first theft was reported in 2021, stating that this failure had contributed to the continued increase in thefts. It further noted that responsible supervisory officers had failed to take the necessary action.

The audit also found that adequate measures had not been taken to identify those responsible for the thefts and damage caused to the Expressway’s infrastructure.

Based on a comparison with the estimate prepared for the first 10 kilometres of the Expressway, the audit report estimated that repairing the damage across the entire Expressway would cost more than Rs 1.77 billion.