News
To ease traffic, light rail services and passenger boats
Colombo and its suburbs are to have an integrated transport system linking up roads, rail and water transport routes.
The proposals for the US$ 11.4 billion project have been included in the Megapolis traffic plan intended to reduce heavy traffic congestion in the city and the suburbs. This has been approved by the Cabinet for immediate implementation.
A Light Railway Transit (LRT) system which runs on elevated tracks and surface tracks to cover the main public institutions in the city and the sububrs will be one of the highlights of the project. This LRT service will cover Kollupitiya, Bambalapitiya, Borella, Maradana, Battaramulla, Malabe and Kaduwela.
This will replace the proposed monorail system which was to be introduced to ease traffic. Under the new plan, railway electrification and modernisation of tracks have been proposed. According to the project, all roads which have six lanes will have one lane only for buses. An inland water transport systems is also to be introduced for passenger services.
Funds for the projects will come locally and from international organisations, including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Some of the projects will be Public Private Partnerships or on a Build Operate and Transfer basis.
The plan has been prepared with the involvement of some 30 state organisations which conducted feasibility studies.
The first phase is expected to be completed by 2020. Two other stages too have been proposed.