No final decision yet on LRT project, minister says

The Government has not yet taken a final decision on the Light Rail Transit (LRT) project cancelled by the Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration, Transport, Highways and Urban Development Minister Bimal Ratnayake told Parliament on Wednesday.

The project, which was to be implemented with financial assistance from the Japanese Government, was cancelled by the previous administration on the grounds that it was costly, ineffective and unsuitable for Colombo, he said.

The Minister made the remarks in response to questions raised by Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Chaminda Wijesiri during the oral question session in Parliament on Wednesday.

“The Mahinda-Gotabaya Government cancelled the project with Cabinet approval after concluding that it was ineffective, costly and unsuitable for Colombo,” Ratnayake said.

He said the Government had not yet estimated the total loss caused by the cancellation. However, compensation had been paid to two companies involved in the project.

Accordingly, 159.78 million Japanese yen had been paid to one company, while 1.003 million U.S. dollars had been paid to the other.

The National Audit Office had issued nine recommendations concerning the cancellation of the project, the Minister said. He added that the Japanese company involved had requested an additional payment because of the delay in settling the compensation.

Ratnayake said the Government had appointed a special committee to examine the matter, but no decision had yet been taken on whether to revive the LRT project.