Sri Lanka Malabe – Fort LRT project to commence by Dec 2018

Feb 06, 2018 (LBO) - Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Megapolis and Western Province Development says that preliminary work on the Light Rail Transport (LRT) project between Malabe and Fort will commence by end of the year once the feasibility study completed in June.





"We are currently in the process of doing the feasibility study for six LRT systems and they on track to finish by June, so after that we will commence the construction with JICA aid by December, " Champika Ranawaka, minister Megapolis and Western Province Development  said.

"At the moment there is a lot of traffic congestion on the Malabe - Borella route mainly because there is no rail connectivity and also less bus routes." The project covers a distance of 21 km and is estimated to cost US 1.3 billion dollars. It is due to be completed by 2021.







Ahead of the launch of the project, all overhead Telecommunication and Electricity lines are to go underground, to facilitate the LRT project. The minister says that the loan, similar to the Port City project, will have to be paid back in 40 years, with a 10-year grace period.





Once the project is completed, it will take about 40 minutes to travel from Malabe to Fort, with trains operating every four minutes during peak hours. There will be 21 stations along the route which covers the Borella, Rajagiriya, Battaramulla and Thalahena areas.