The Need to Revive Sri Lanka’s LRT Project

"Colombo Traffic" by Nazly is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

In 2017, for this blog I interviewed Dr. Dimantha De Silva about the Colombo Transport Plan of the Megapolis Project. He was Consultant/Team Leader of the Colombo Transport Plan. The Megapolis and its Colombo Transport Plan was an initiative of the then Sri Lankan government. This plan included a Light Rail Transit (LRT) system which is a form of rail transit for Sri Lanka’s most populous city Colombo. In March 2019, the Daily News reported that a loan was signed between the Sri Lankan government and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to construct an LRT Line from Malabe to Colombo Fort.

When I was interviewing Dimantha in May 2017, I was concerned that Gotabaya Rajapaksa would become Sri Lanka’s next President and cancel this project. Unfortunately, he was elected President in November 2019. Gotabaya Rajapaksa governed disastrously which culminated in Sri Lanka’s economic collapse in 2022 alongside protests which successfully resulted in his resignation. In September 2020, Gotabaya Rajapaksa terminated the LRT project. It was so tragic to see a positive transportation project get cancelled due to Sri Lanka’s broken political system. It had a very beneficial loan condition for Sri Lanka and the agreement had already been signed with JICA.

On the 23rd of July, the Daily News reported that Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development Bimal Rathnayake said in Parliament that a final decision has not currently been made on whether to resume the LRT project. Minister Ratnayake mentioned that compensation has been paid to two companies with one of the Japanese companies requesting additional interest payment for the delay. He also said a special committee has been formed to investigate this issue.

I am of the view that the National People’s Power (NPP) government should revive the LRT project. They are involved in positive transport projects right now. This year, the Metro Bus service was launched which continues to expand. These are modern Foton buses with the service run by the Lanka Metro Transit company. Minister Rathnayake stated in July that Sri Lanka will take steps to introduce an electric railway service in 2027. Its first phase will consist of three routes. He gave an update this month that construction is expected to begin in May or June next year.

   

In July, the Cabinet of Ministers approved a purchase of 600 new deluxe buses with air-conditioning. These buses are for the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB). Minister Rathnayake mentioned in Parliament earlier this month that many new expressways will start construction before the end of 2026. The government just launched a national program to make dangerous and unsafe parts of roads outside of highways safe. On the 18th of this month, the government signed Memorandums of Understanding for this program with local government bodies. Prasanna Gunasena, Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways revealed on the 20th that the construction of Kandy’s Mahaiyawa’s underpass is about 80% done with it aiming to be finished by December. The purpose of the underpass is to improve commuter access to Kandy and to help reduce Kandy’s traffic congestion.

Japan is involved with the Sri Lankan government’s current transport initiatives. Around the beginning of this month, the Japanese government donated seven low-floor buses to Sri Lanka in order to enhance the Sri Lankan public transport system. These bus donations are by both the Japanese government and residents of Yokohama, Japan. This is part of the Metro Bus service as the donated buses were handed over to Lanka Metro Transit, the company responsible for the Metro Buses.

The Japanese government’s development agency JICA who were set to give the LRT loan is currently involved in Sri Lankan development projects. JICA is involved in setting up a Doppler Weather Radar Network in Puttalam. It is being constructed right now and expected to be completed next year. This is funded by Japan’s Grant Aid and will help Sri Lanka prepare for disasters. JICA provided loans for two cardiac treatment complexes in Trincomalee and Anuradhapura which just began construction. In July, Sri Lanka’s second largest water supply project was launched. JICA funded this Anuradhapura North Water Supply Project - Phase II. This month, it was reported that the Kalu Ganga Water project is about to begin. It’s a JICA loan servicing drinking water needs of families in the Colombo and Kalutara districts.

Colombo having an LRT system would greatly assist with travel as the city has too many vehicles on the roads. An LRT would enable people to travel to destinations on the list at a faster speed. It is elevated keeping it separate from regular traffic on its route enabling those vehicles to go faster due to the LRT usage. Colombo’s LRT has great potential to improve Sri Lanka’s economy. Dimantha told me how his mentors and professors in Calgary, Canada (where he lived prior to my interview and lives presently) talked about how Calgary grew and its economic levels increased when Calgary’s LRT system was introduced. He also said that it enabled investors to come in for other projects. This provides potential benefits such a system would have in Sri Lanka.

As Dimantha stated to me, Sri Lanka won’t be eligible for the LRT loan once we elevate to an upper middle income country. This loan has a 0.1% interest rate for a 40 year period and has a 10 year grace period. Sri Lanka was not an upper middle income country when the interview was conducted. We reached this classification by the World Bank in July 2019, only to lose it one year later. The World Bank improved Sri Lanka’s classification this July, returning it to an upper middle income country.

Sri Lanka’s status as an upper middle income country poses challenges to a loan for a revived LRT project as we are no longer eligible for it. If we were to negotiate with JICA on reviving the LRT, we could request it to consist of the original loan conditions when it was signed. If that is not possible, there are other options to look at which could include getting other countries or organisations also involved to ease the cost. It’s important to try to have an agreement on reviving the project including compensation payments reimbursed or at least have the interest compensation requirement cancelled.

Sri Lanka collaborating with JICA on the current development projects can help us in negotiating for a revival of Colombo’s LRT. In January 2025, Minister Rathnayake took a train ride as a regular passenger. Passengers approached him about issues the train service faces. This is a positive action by the Minister in reaching out to the people and their issues. He could use his experiences of travelling on a train and learning of the passengers’ issues as a reason to see the value of a LRT system operating in Sri Lanka, both due the common value of the train & LRT and how an improved system could address passengers’ issues. The LRT can be integrated into the government’s transport initiatives. LRT would complement the current transport projects well. Metro Buses can go to LRT locations linking the two systems to benefit each other.

In light of the government’s positive transport initiatives and work with JICA, I see the LRT as a Sri Lankan project which should be revived. The fact that Japan also donated buses to Sri Lanka this year is a case of them collaborating with the current government on transport which could help with an LRT revival. An LRT system would revolutionise Colombo’s transport sector and bring tangible benefits to Sri Lanka enabling the country to develop further.

A Look Back at 1960s Colombo

I discovered a one minute YouTube video by the Huntley Film Archives called “Colombo, Sri Lanka, around 1960. Archive film 95260”. The quality isn’t the best with a watermark, but it is in colour and it does offer a glimpse into what Colombo, Sri Lanka was like in the 1960s. This blog post is a companion piece to my blog post “A Look Back at 1970s Colombo” from a few years ago. I’ll be embedding the video below and will be giving my thoughts on it.

 

We see ships at sea in Colombo Port. We are soon joined by the Colombo Port Commission building in the same area which is now the Sri Lanka Ports Authority building. We see people walk outside the building. The video then moves into the Colombo roads. I see a brief flash of a double decker bus. We see the Grand Oriental Hotel. Interestingly, I attended a wedding at the Grand Oriental Hotel two years ago in December 2019. 

The Colombo Tram is featured. The Colombo Tram is a transport system that used to exist in Colombo, but was discontinued in 1960. I notice that some cars seem to be driving too close to the tram with them crossing the lines of the tram section. It’s my observation that some of the same type of small shops seen here still exist in Colombo. There are what appears to be vegetable stalls. We see the Colombo Tram again going through a narrow road with tiled roofs. It closes with an old building. I wonder what building this is.

  

It was good to see a look into 1960s Colombo. I notice that Colombo seems to have a strong British influence unlike now, which is no doubt as this was not long after colonialism. Colombo in the 1960s was a very busy city like how it has always been. If you have lived in Colombo in the 1960s or been in Colombo during that time, I hope this video brought back positive memories.

Cerno's Colombo

There is a popular Sri Lankan blogger who blogs under his online name Cerno. Five years ago, he made his Flickr photos in the public domain. I found great photos of Colombo, Sri Lanka in his Flickr so I decided to write a blog post using some of his Colombo photos with commentary by me.

We’ll begin with two photos of Independence Square. I like the angle he took in the second photo

which is capturing the Independence Memorial Hall in a great way. 

This is a nice shot of Colombo at night featuring interesting light effects.

This is what Cerno calls an “Unglamorous Colombo panorama”. He had taken this photo from Durdans Hospital in 2007. While this isn’t the poshest aspect of Colombo, I wouldn’t call it unglamorous. I think it’s a nice depiction of the Colombo suburbs. The abundance of buildings in Colombo are often criticised, but for me that’s part of Colombo’s charm. This picture has a lot of trees alongside buildings which I think is an aspect of the Colombo look and feel.

Here’s an old photo of Colombo probably taken in the mid or late 1980s. Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court complex can be seen in the picture. Colombo looks so different to how it is now.

Here’s a photo of Colombo taken much more recently in December 2012. This provides a strong

contrast to the previous picture taken in the 1980s. While both photos were taken from different places,

they both point towards Colombo Fort with the Bank of Ceylon building being the most common link

between the two. I personally prefer contemporary Colombo. This is the first in a set of photos Cerno

seems to have taken from a building.

Here’s a panorama taken from the same position, thus we get a much wider view including a better

look at the sea. Just like in the previous photo, we see alongside buildings many trees and the Beira

Lake.

There are quite a few colourful buildings in this photo. 

I’ll end this with a lovely shot of contemporary Colombo featuring modern buildings. We also see some

green with the trees, the Beira Lake and a bit of grass. One thing I’ve noticed in these four photos is

that there is hardly any traffic on the Colombo roads which seems strange to me as this is daytime

when the traffic is very intense. The peaceful Colombo roads are good to see.

These photos showcase attributes of Colombo which includes its history, modernity, uniqueness and

colour. If you enjoyed this, you may be interested in my previous blog post “Captivating Colombo”

featuring photos I took of Colombo. I also started off that post with Independence Square. 

A Look Back at 1970s Colombo

Last year, a nearly three minute video shot on 16 millimetre film featuring aerial videography of

1970s Colombo, Sri Lanka was released on the Kinolibrary YouTube channel. The video is called

“1970s Colombo Aerials, HD from 16mm”. I’m embedding the video below which you can watch if

you wish. Following that, I will give my thoughts on this footage.

The video actually begins in Kandy lifting off from the Police Grounds. It then flies over the Kandy

Market and the Kandy Railway Station. Many of the buildings seen at the start are thin and long

which seems to be an older style, dating back much further than the 1970s. Quite a few of them are

later seen in Colombo. These types of buildings still exist in Sri Lanka, but they are not present to

the same extent as before. It’s interesting to see steam trains as those type of trains are no longer

in use.The train featured is likely going from Kandy to Matale. It’s good to see that there is a lot of

green areas, as I see a large amount of trees and paddy fields. I see many palm trees both here and

later on in Colombo which is a good and common sight in Sri Lanka. Following that it goes to

Kadugannawa, a town near Kandy. In this town there is a tall monument known as Dawson’s

Column.

We finally reach Colombo, going right into the centre of the city. Colombo in the 1970s looks very

different to Colombo in the 2010s, with a small part of the footage shown not looking familiar. The

most prominent difference between the two periods is the buildings that no longer exist and the lack

of ones that do now. I notice that there are some then modern buildings in the Colombo City

alongside the old ones.

Following the main area of Colombo, we then go to the Colombo Port. After our brief look at the

Colombo Port, we go to a suburban area of Colombo that I’m not familiar with. This suburban area is

very crowded, unlike the main part of Colombo that was seen earlier. We then see two familiar

landmarks that being Town Hall and Beira Lake. I’m pleased to see that the Beira Lake is in a very

clean condition.

When it comes to traffic featured in this video, the second instance of traffic is more crowded making

it somewhat reminiscent of current traffic in Colombo. However, the first instance of traffic is calm

and peaceful totally unlike today. I wish Colombo could have traffic like this again. On the reverse, I

think there is an achievement Colombo has made since then. Though the city has more

improvements needed when it comes to cleanliness, it is my perception that the city is cleaner now

than it was than.

It’s good that the Internet allows us to find out this information about the past which would have been

very difficult to see two to three decades back. Despite the differences, Colombo of the 1970s still

has the uniquely Colombo look and feel we see now in the 2010s, which will no doubt remain in 40

years time in the 2050s. If you have lived in Colombo in the 1970s, I’d be interested in hearing your

thoughts on this video and/or your memories of this time.