Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has received a new order to deploy Sri Lanka’s first highway traffic management system (HTMS), a development that also marks the first installation of the company’s full-scale traffic management system for expressways.

The system on order is slated to begin operations by the end of 2014.

MHI will install the HTMS on the Southern Expressway between Colombo and Galle, a distance of around 95km.

Under the contract awarded by Sri Lanka’s Road Development Authority (RDA), MHI will manage all aspects, including engineering, procurement, installation, adjustment and training.

It will deliver 24 variable message signboards, vehicle detection cameras, weather sensors and other roadside equipment, along with the central computer systems for data processing and operating status monitoring, among others.

Construction work on the project will be executed under a grant-in-aid provided by the Japanese Government.

The Southern Expressway will eventually be linked into neighbouring expressways, with further expressway construction currently under way in Sri Lanka in preparation for an estimated increase in vehicle traffic over the coming years.

MHI currently offers services in Japan and overseas as a manufacturer of toll collection systems, including electronic toll collection (ETC) systems, for expressways and parking lots.

The company plans to focus on sales expansion in overseas markets through proposals of traffic management system specifications as well as functions suitable to the situations of the emerging economies.

Image: Officials from Sri Lanka and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries at the signing ceremony. Photo: courtesy of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.