The Ministry of Transport, Highways and Urban Development, the Clean Sri Lanka Secretariat, the Sri Lanka Transport Board and the Lanka Metro Transit (Pvt.) Ltd. are jointly implementing the development of the necessary infrastructure to facilitate the Metro Bus service, which has been launched in the Western Province, taking the country’s urban transport sector in a new direction.
The official commencement of operations of the Kadawatha Metro Depot, which was built under the improvement of those facilities, was held yesterday (2026.09.07). The Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development Bimal Ratnayake, the management of Lanka Metro Transit (Pvt.) Ltd. and several officials participated in this event.
The first depot constructed under the metro project was opened on the 4th in Battaramulla, and this second depot has been established near the Sri Lanka Transport Board depot located near the Kadawatha-Ganemulla main road in the Mahara electoral division of the Gampaha district.
In order to increase the service capacity of the Metro Bus project and to maintain administrative, operational and maintenance activities, Lanka Metro Transit (Pvt.) Ltd. has planned to construct 04 new depots under the first phase. Under this, this first depot project will be implemented focusing on the Thalangama, Kadawatha, Ekala and Ratmalana areas. Transport services will be operated from Makumbura to Kadawatha via Maharagama under route number 01 of the Metro Bus service. Lanka Metro Transit (Pvt.) Ltd. is working to regularize the provision of comfortable transport facilities to the people using 15 new Metro buses on this route by establishing these new depot centers.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister Bimal Ratnayake said:
”The Metro Bus service will increase to 122 buses this month. This will enable efficient transport services to the urban population. A cabinet paper has been submitted to purchase 50 more buses for the metro service. By the end of this year or early next year, the metro service will be expanded to 172 buses. This service will be implemented beyond the Western Province and expanded to Galle, Kandy and Jaffna.
The private sector will also be given the opportunity to operate the bus service in future under a contract with the metro. The SLTB, which performs a large part of public transport, is being built. The SLTB is the lifeblood of public transport in Sri Lanka. No one else can provide the service provided by the SLTB. Nor will it. By the end of this year, 600 new AC buses will be imported for the SLTB. In addition, 200 more buses will be brought in with SLTB money.”