Integrated transport terminal in Pettah soon

An integrated transport terminal, to cater to the needs of commuters will be constructed in Pettah by the Transport Ministry and Malaysia's MAJU Group shortly.

The terminal will bring under one roof, the train, bus, taxi and trishaw services that operate within the city and the monorail service will be an addition to Colombo's transport system in the near future.

An exchange of documents to formalise the arrangement, which aspires to ease traffic congestion in the city centre, took place at the Cinnamon Grand on Thursday. Former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad was also present.

The documents were exchanged between Transport Ministry Secretary Dhammika Perera and Managing Director of MajuTMAS, a member of the Maju Group of Companies, Roslan Shariff.

After studying transport hubs in various countries and having discussions with local and foreign representatives, the Transport Ministry officials settled for Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS) of Kuala Lumpur as the best suited for Sri Lanka.

The construction of TBS terminal in Malaysia from 2007 to 2010 was under the close supervision of Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.

The three main bus stations in Pettah and the Fort railway station will be integrated into a single terminal under the project.

The collaboration is based on a platform for technology transfer and shared experience and expertise. The Maju Group will offer its services to the Government on a pro bono basis.Over 600,000 commuters travel to Colombo daily.

The Government is engaged in mega development projects to transform Colombo to be the cleanest, most picturesque and a principal commercial city in Asia.