The Ministry of Transport, Highways and Urban Development, Clean Sri Lanka Secretariat, Sri Lanka Transport Board and Lanka Metro Transit (Pvt.) Ltd. are jointly implementing the necessary infrastructure development to facilitate the Metro Bus service, which was launched with the Western Province as a centerpiece, taking the country's urban transport sector in a new direction.
The official commencement of operations of the Kadawatha Metro Depot yard, 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 inaugurated on the 4th in Battaramulla, while the 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 carry out administrative, operational and maintenance activities, the 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 via Maharagama to Kadawatha under route number 01 of the Metro Bus service. Lanka Metro Transit (Pvt.) Ltd. is working to streamline the provision of comfortable transport facilities to the public by 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 increase 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 the future under contract with the metro company. The SLTB, which plays a large role in public transport, is being built. SLTB is the lifeblood of public transport in Sri Lanka. The services provided by SLTB cannot be provided by anyone else. Nor will they. By the end of this year, 600 new AC buses will be imported for SLTB. In addition, 200 more buses will be brought in with SLTB funds.
In addition to the long-term plan to build depots, bus stops, integrated payment systems, depot facilities, parking lots and other transport services will also be improved. This new metro bus project is part of the government's program to modernize public transport services.