Sri Lanka’s roads are destined to become more crowded and more dangerous. The government says it plans shift road traffic, particularly container traffic, onto rail, to ease the pressure – but experts say national transport plans have so far been paper tigers.
Secretary to the Ministry Of Transport, Mr Dhammika Perera
Secretary to the Ministry of Transport, Mr Dhammika Perera, speaking at a business forum at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, on Monday, March 28, 2011, said the government has a ‘Transport Master Plan’ in line with broader national strategy. He also invited private sector investments and promised ‘over the counter’ approvals or rejections of projects. [No delays, no uncertainty]
However, Mr Perera did not specify where exactly – within the very large and diverse field of transport – investments would be welcomed.
“Any proposal, I can say yes, or no in one hour,” said Mr Perera.
Meanwhile, a leading expert in the transport sector in Sri Lanka, Professor Amal Kumarage, suggested that the government should try implementing policies and strategies developed for the sector so far, by industry experts.
Apparently Sri Lanka, has a National Transport Policy developed in 2009 which is still not implemented. Many other plans, such as an urban traffic management plan, a road safety plan and other transport sector management related plans have been worked on but are not properly implemented.
Adding to chaos
Sri Lanka’s transport sector is noted for messy administration, politicization and thuggery (At one point, private bus owners – themselves noted for breaking traffic laws – were complaining of having to pay kickbacks running into million of rupees, to the mafia, to be able to operate private buses, unmolested).
Sri Lanka’s transport sector, covering land, rail, water and air transport facilities, is also very large, accounting for about 1.5 million jobs and about 15% of GDP ( around Rs 900 billion). However, the industry is dominated (80%) by small and medium businesses operating in the informal sector – without proper quality controls or management.
These features have made the sector, as the experts politely put it, ‘inefficient.’
Meanwhile, with quality of public transport deteriorating, more vehicles are coming onto the roads – despite the high costs of vehicles and fuel.
At this point, 3.2 million vehicles are on Sri Lanka’s roads designed to take far less. The numbers are expected to hit 5.5 million to 6 million by the end of the decade. Three wheelers, already the government has counted 300,000, are expected to be replaced at least in part, by 4 wheelers.
These changes will need wider roads and far better traffic management.
Right now, the Ministry of Transport estimates the cost of congestion at around Rs 40 billion per year.
Because of the lawless nature of Sri Lankan travel, road accidents are one of the biggest killers. Every day an average of 150 road accidents are reported and every year an average of 2,400 people die from accidents, while another 24,000 are injured. Another 5,000 premature deaths are attributed to air pollution from vehicles.
Given this operating scenario, more unplanned interventions will only add to the chaos.
“Keeping roads uncongested means not just building flyovers and putting one way systems and policemen at junctions. We need a sustained policy,” said Professor Kumarage.
Hopefully the government’s Transport Master Plan will not be another paper tiger on a shelf.
