LRT - Feasibility study soon

Japanese experts will be in Sri Lanka within the next few months to carry out a feasibility study for the Light Rail Transit project funded by Japan and proposed as one of the key future mass transit modes in the Western Province Megapolis.

A JICA team was in town last week and agreement has been reached on the terms of reference for consultants.

“They will go back and do the recruitment and mobilize the feasibility study team,” Megapolis Project Director Nayana Mavilmada told the Business Observer. “The feasibility study will continue for one year and the tenders for sub-projects under the Light Rail projects will be called after the study,” he said. He earlier told a Megapolis investing opportunities meeting in Colombo organized by Guardian Acuity Asset Management, that LRT and railway electrification projects would be the priorities of the Megapolis project. “Simultaneously, the airport, port development and water transportation projects would happen,” he said.

In July a high level delegation from the Japanese government, led by Hirofumi Katase, Vice Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry, visited Sri Lanka and confirmed their government’s willingness to finance the LRT project on deeply concessional terms.

The long-term plan developed by the Megapolis team includes an LRT network of about 75 km. The initial investment is to cover around 25 km connecting Fort, Kollupitiya, Bambalapitiya, Borella, Maradana, Rajagiriya, Battaramulla and Malambe.

The initial segments of the LRT system will be elevated, given the high density of existing development. However, elements of the network to follow are expected to be at grade or ground level. The LRT system is also expected to interconnect with the rail and bus networks to provide commuters with world class transfer facilities as a part of an integrated mobility solution for the Western Region Megapolis. Its transport strategy has emphasized improving public mass transit and reducing traffic jams which, if it worsens, experts fear, could act as a drag on economic growth.

It also includes the implementation of some immediate measures such as introduction of CCTV monitoring to strengthen enforcement of traffic rules, introduction of staggered working hours and synchronization of traffic light systems.

- CJ