The Western Region Megapolis Light Rail Transit System (
Sinhala: කොළඹ සැහැල්ලු දුම්රිය සංක්රමණ පද්ධතිය.
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
: கொழும்பு இலகு ரக இருப்புப்பாதை கட்டமைப்பு) (previously referred to as the Colombo Light Rail ) is a proposed metropolitan
light rail system which will serve the designated
Western Region Megapolis
The Western Region Megapolis is an urban planning, zoning, and development area stretching from Negombo in the north to Beruwala in the south. It is designed to create a megapolis in Sri Lanka's Western Province by 2030.
The plan was created by ...
area within the
Colombo District,
Sri Lanka.
The system is planned to be operated as a
public-private partnership between the
Government of Sri Lanka and selected private entities.
The project estimated to be worth USD 1.5 billion was commenced during the Presidency of
Maithripala Sirisena
Maithripala Yapa Sirisena ( si, පල්ලෙවත්ත ගමරාළලාගේ මෛත්රීපාල යාපා සිරිසේන; ta, பல்லேவத்த கமராளலாகே மைத்திரி ...
in 2017 and was regarded as the largest single foreign-funded infrastructure project in Sri Lanka. The funding came from the Japan International Cooperation Agency which provided an extremely low-interest loan with an interest rate of only 0.1% which is repayable over 40 years with a 12-year grace period. In September 2020 president
Gotabaya Rajapaksa unilaterally cancelled the project
resulting in the government incurring billions of rupees in losses
and compensation for consultants .
The cancellation also severely impacted relations with Japan which had been a major source of financial and technological assistance to Sri Lanka making Japan unwilling to provide further aid to the Rajapaksa administration.
In December 2022 newly elected president
Ranil Wikremesighe announced the revival of the project after the ousting of the president
Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
History
The project commenced in 2017 but in September 2020 due to the change in administration in Sri Lanka, the newly elected president
Gotabaya Rajapaksa ordered the cancellation of the project claiming that it was not a cost-effective solution.
The government later claimed that the project was not cancelled and would continue with changes But in 2022 the Auditor Generals department confirmed that the project was scrapped unilaterally by Gotabaya and began an investigation into the cancellation.
The audit found that due to Gotabhaya's unilateral actions the Sri Lankan government suffered a loss of almost Rs. 6 billion which had been spent so far on the project.
In June 2021, it was reported that a Japanese firm which was involved with the project claimed damages and compensation amounting to Rs. 5.8 billion as a result of scrapping the project.
In December 2022, the project was revived again.
Infrastructure
See also
*
Sri Lanka Railways
*
Transport in Sri Lanka Transport in Sri Lanka is based on its road network, which is centred on the country's commercial capital Colombo. A rail network handles a portion of Sri Lanka's transport needs. There are navigable waterways, harbours and three international airpo ...
*
Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development
Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development (Sinhala language, Sinhala: මහානගර හා බස්නාහිර සංවර්ධන අමාත්යාංශය ''Mahanagara Ha Basnahira Sanvardhana Amathyanshaya'') was an appoi ...
*
Colombo Monorail The Colombo Monorail was a proposed monorail system to be built in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The project was estimated to cost United States dollar, US$ 1.3 billion. Construction was proposed to begin in 2Q 2015. However a Japanese JICA transportation mas ...
, which the light rail system was selected over.
References
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External links
Official branding and design concepts for the CLROfficial Website of the Western Region Megapolis Light Rail Transit
Rail transport in Colombo District
Tram and light rail transit systems under construction
2025 in rail transport