The development of infrastructure to facilitate public transportation across the country has halted over the past two years due to the economic crisis and recent debt restructuring. However, as of April this year, the Ministry of Transport and Highways has managed to settle a majority of the outstanding bills owed to its contractors.
Last week, Ministry of Transport and Highways Secretary Eng. Ranjith Ganganath Rubasinghe reiterated that, despite the economic crisis, the Government had allocated Rs. 390 billion over the past two years for road development projects initiated before 2022. Of this amount, Rs. 300 billion has been paid to contractors, and Rs. 90 billion has been used for debt repayment.
Transport, Highways, and Mass Media Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardena recently announced that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had stipulated that contracts could not be executed on credit.
“The Government has given an undertaking to the IMF to settle such credit within a month. We succeeded in settling an outstanding amount of Rs. 361 billion to the contractors of the Road Development Authority (RDA), and only Rs. 5 billion remains outstanding to contractors,” the Minister said.
Gunawardena acknowledged that contractors faced many issues due to the non-payment of their bills by the Government. He added: “No contractors were given priority and the money was credited to their bank accounts. After settling the outstanding payments, there is only Rs. 20 billion set apart for road construction in 2024.”
He further stated that a stretch of roads extending over 18,000–20,000 km could be developed if the outstanding bills of the contractors were not settled.
Latest developments
Meanwhile, Rubasinghe noted that the Government’s debt restructuring initiative had proven particularly beneficial to the Ministry of Highways, allowing numerous projects that were on hold during the previous crisis to resume.
Specifically, discussions have begun about the early start of Phase 1 of the Central Expressway. Additionally, Phases 2 and 3 of the Central Expressway and the Ruwanpura Expressway project are expected to begin soon, with bilateral discussions underway regarding the completion of the elevated highways project in Athurugiriya through financial investments. The Government anticipates Public-Private Partnership (PPP) investments for these projects.
“An electronic ticketing system for public transport services, including trains, is planned to be introduced before the end of this year. The entire highway toll payment system will also be made electronic within a few months.
“Furthermore, preliminary discussions are being held with the Governments of Japan, China, and India for several new projects that would help grow the transport and highways sector by 10-15% over the next five years,” Rubasinghe clarified.
Projects nearing completion
RDA Director General S.M.P. Suriyabandara explained: “The construction of the second phase of the flyover above the railway line connecting Kompanna Vidiya, Justice Akbar Mawatha, and Uttarananda Mawatha was completed and handed over to the public on Thursday (11).
“Additionally, the Kohuwala flyover is scheduled to be opened to the public and work on the harbour entrance runway is expected to be completed in the first half of September. Moreover, 320 km of rural roads have been completed under the 1,000 km of rural roads project which began last February, with the remaining roads set to be completed in August.”
Railways and other transport initiatives
Sri Lanka Railways, aiming to improve its revenue, has permitted the leasing of land owned by the department. Acting General Manager of Railways Sanjaya Mudalige said: “We have a land extent of 12,000 acres that are occupied by residents with and without permission. We are allowing these residents to register and obtain tax deeds. Whoever fails to register will be subject to legal action and will be removed from the premises.”
He added: “The modernisation of the Mahawa-Omanthai railway line will be completed in August and the freight train service from Beliatta to Colombo will commence on 15 July. This service will be available to farmers, businesspersons, and others transporting goods to Colombo.
“We are planning to develop railway stations along the coastal line as multipurpose projects in collaboration with the private sector. Six railway stations, including Kollupitiya and Bambalapitiya, are currently being developed accordingly. Furthermore, in order to meet the demand for train engines, the Government of India has agreed to donate 20 train engines, with the first batch expected to arrive within two months.”
Regulation and digitalisation of bus services
With buses currently regulated under the National Transport Commission (NTC) Act, NTC Chairman Shashi Welgama explained that amendments to the act would include the regulation of three-wheelers, school and office transport services, taxis, and more.
“Additionally, through the ‘Sisu Sariya’ programme, we provide transport facilities for around 110,000 children across about 5,000 schools for social welfare. This initiative also extends transportation services to Government and private institutions, helping to reduce urban traffic congestion, fuel consumption, and environmental pollution,” he said.
“Furthermore, by offering transportation facilities to people in remote rural areas through the ‘Gami Sariya’ programme, the NTC aims to improve their standard of living. The NTC is also preparing and implementing schedules for inter-provincial buses.”
Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) Chairman Lalith de Alwis stated that the SLTB served around 1.2 million passengers through 5,500 trips daily. He further said that with the digitalisation of services, the institution aimed to eliminate revenue losses.
The SLTB’s upcoming initiatives include the introduction of electric buses to enhance innovation in public transport, leveraging modern technology to streamline fleet operations and improve passenger information services. These efforts are part of its comprehensive strategy to address climate change.
Passengers already benefit from online seat reservations and access to long-distance service timetables via the internet. The SLTB plans to roll out further digital services soon.
In terms of bus-fleet expansion to cater to growing transportation needs, de Alwis noted: “Last year, we successfully refurbished 400 buses, with plans to refurbish an additional 400 this year. The Cabinet’s approval of 1,000 new buses has prompted procurement efforts to acquire 400 buses immediately.
“In addition to regular services, we offer subsidised bus fares for school and technical college students, operating 811 buses for school routes and 890 for other services daily.”
2023 allocations for public transport
The ‘Final Budget Position Report for 2023,’ published by the Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilisation, and National Policies, highlighted the expenditure for the fiscal year of 2023 to improve the public transport sector:
Bus transportation
The Government spent Rs. 19.1 billion on the bus transport sector in 2023, of which Rs. 15.8 billion and Rs. 3.3 billion were spent as recurrent and capital expenditure, respectively. A sum of Rs. 8.3 billion was spent to provide season tickets for school and higher education students.
Meanwhile, Rs. 5.5 billion was spent on other relief services such as operating SLTB buses on unremunerated routes in rural areas, contributing to maintaining a socially obligatory bus service and providing armed forces bus passes.
The total recurrent expenditure in 2023 increased by 40% to Rs. 15.8 billion compared to Rs. 11.3 billion in 2022. Rs. 3,349 million was spent as capital expenditure, including the purchase of 500 new buses for the SLTB, to improve the bus fleet, and printing of driving licences.
Railways
Rs. 46.4 billion was spent on the railways sector by the Government in 2023, of which Rs. 27.8 billion was incurred as recurrent expenditure and Rs. 18.6 billion was spent as capital expenditure.
This capital expenditure includes the expenditure on the Colombo Suburban Railway Efficiency Improvement Project and the project for the rehabilitation of the railway track and installation of signalling from Mahawa to Omanthai, implemented to provide a comfortable and uninterrupted railway service to the public.
The total expenditure on the railway transport sector in 2023 increased by 2.6% compared to the total expenditure of Rs. 45.2 billion in 2022.
Road development
The expenditure in the sector for 2023 was mainly focused on road maintenance, completion of critical activities of ongoing road projects, settling outstanding bills relating to road construction, and improvements to avoid charging claims and interest on outstanding bills by contractors. The total expenditure during the year 2023 was Rs. 226.8 billion, a 13% increase compared to 2022.
Significant bills in hand relating to the Meerigama to Kurunegala section of the Central Expressway Project; ‘Maga Neguma;’ and the development of an alternative road network to access main roads and expressways, and to ease traffic congestion were settled in 2023. Further, critical activities essential to enhancing roads to a motorable level were continued under the Integrated Road Investment Programme (iRoad).
With continuous financial support from development partners, projects such as the Port Access Elevated Highway, Inclusive Connectivity and Development Project, rehabilitation of the A17 road corridor, and rehabilitation of the Peradeniya-Badulla-Chenkalady road were continued and achieved remarkable progress.
Meanwhile, due to the temporary suspension of disbursement, the Kadawatha-Mirigama section of the Central Expressway (Section I) did not make significant progress in 2023. Additionally, Rs. 11,770 million was spent in 2023 to pay compensation for the people whose lands had been acquired for roads and bridge-development projects.
Major projects launched in 2023 on public transport
Description
Expenditure (Rs. million)
Procurement of 140 passenger coaches and improvement of Ratmalana workshop
357
Double-tracking of railway line from Polgahawela to Kurunegala, rehabilitation of railway track, and installation of signalling from Mahawa to Omanthai
195
Rehabilitation of 300 passenger coaches
474
Rehabilitation of permanent way with new rails and sleepers
2,949
Colombo Suburban Railway Efficiency Improvement Project
6,129
Subsidy for school and higher education season tickets, and bus passes for armed forces
8,466
SLTB buses operating on unremunerated routes in rural areas
3,690
Augmentation of SLTB bus fleet
916
Source: Department of National Budget