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| Thursday, 3 October 2002 |
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by Tharika Goonathilake A Light Railway could be a reality in Colombo soon if a group of Malaysian investors get the nod to build a new rail transport system for the City. The two-track, electrically-operated system will be faster and more efficient. This will bring Colombo on par with leading cities like Hong Kong/Singapore (Mass Rapid Transit), London (Docklands Light Railway), Bangkok (Elevated Light Railway) and Tokyo (Monorail). The light railway, a novel initiative of the government to link major suburbs with Colombo will address congestion in the existing transport system as part of the Master Plan to develop Sri Lanka's transport sector, Urban Development Authority (UDA) Chairman Tudor Munasinghe told the Daily News yesterday. It is to be built on a Build-Own-Operate (Boo) or a Build Own Transfer (BOT) basis. "The Prime Minister's vision is to develop Colombo into a mega City. He has called for a series of initiatives for developing the transport network to ensure easier access to Colombo. This system will pave the way for achieving this goal," the Chairman said. Munasinghe said the conducive environment created for investments had resulted in this interest. "The Government cannot meet the financial commitment required for such a gigantic project and has sought investments. The interest shown by the Malaysians augurs well for government's initiative," he said. The UDA had drawn up the initial draft under the Colombo Metropolitan Structural Plan. It was subsequently re-adopted by the National Physical Planing Department. The proposed above-ground railway will be a 'loop line' encompassing Colombo. "The proposed plan offers different options and will have to be discussed extensively once agreements are drawn with the investors," the Chairman said.
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