Cabinet nod for commencing talks with Japan to resume LRT project

By Rathindra Kuruwita

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a proposal by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to commence discussions with the Japanese mission in Colombo on recommencing the Light Railway Transit project.

The Cabinet has also approved a proposal for preparing a timeline for the project.

In 2019, the Government of Japan agreed to grant a loan of around 1.6 billion U.S. dollars to build a 15 km light railway transit project to help reduce traffic congestion in Colombo.

It was estimated that once established, a passenger could travel from Malabe to Colombo within 27 minutes, using the LRT.

In 2020, the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government suddenly pulled out of the project, citing high costs.

The National Audit Office (NAO) in 2022 revealed that 10.6 billion rupees had been wasted due to the government’s decision to cancel the project.

By the time the government decided to cancel the project, various parties had spent the above-mentioned sum, the NAOsaid.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has tried to resume the project.