By: Staff Writer
January 05, Colombo (LNW): The government has been exploring opportunities for shifting from fossil fuel-based transport towards energy based transport system
The Cabinet has approved the preparation of a policy framework and then a strategic plan with a road map to create the direction needed to promote the use of electric vehicles, Transport Minister Bandula Gunawardena said.
He noted that the Sri Lankan government, in the past, has been exploring opportunities for shifting from fossil fuel-based transport towards energy based transport systems.
“Various initiatives in the form of policies and strategies have been formulated along with studies and research to determine the feasibility of initiating electric mobility in Sri Lanka.
Initiatives taken by the Government of Sri Lanka to date include electric vehicle registration, defining standards and processes for electric vehicle manufacturing and assembling, development of charging infrastructure, and subsidy plan for Electric Vehicles, but a comprehensive long-term vision for Electric Vehicle Policy was lacking and required.
Mr Madan Regmi, from UN ESCAP, has agreed to support Sri Lanka in drafting a policy framework for accelerating the Transition to Electric Mobility for Public Transport in Sri Lanka.
The policy at national level will show the way forward to all the initiatives across the country and it will help to integrate the standalone efforts to a collaborative initiative.
The year 2024 will be declared as E-mobility entry year in Sri Lanka. Transport Ministry is looking forward to taking this policy to the implementation phase with the support of all related Government and private sector stakeholders, and it is very important that everyone collaborate and partner to create a difference, he said. .
In March 2024 government is planning to have an EV exhibition and a conference to discuss and have a dialogue among us to agree on the collaboration between ourselves, exchange global ideas and showcase all initiatives within our country and also for investors to partner and scale up national enterprises in this domain, he added .
This will be a global initiative aimed at promoting sustainable and efficient public transportation systems.
This will emphasize the importance of decarbonization in transport, reducing individual vehicle usage, minimizing traffic congestion, and curbing the environmental impact of transportation.
