Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera and Japanese Ambassador Kenichi Suganuma jointly launched Sri Lanka’s first electric three wheelers yesterday in an effort to bring down transportation costs and to encourage transition to environmentally friendly transportation alternatives.
Speaking at the launch of the Electric Tuk Tuk at the Waters’ Edge Hotel on Monday, Finance Minister Samaraweera said with more than one million three-wheeler drivers in Sri Lanka, the three-wheeler industry is indeed a major sector of the country. “The ‘Sri Lankan tuk’ has in fact become something of an icon as it is used in myriad aspects. It is an affordable means of transport for small business, providing last mile connectivity for SMEs and entrepreneurs. Three wheelers are a means of affordable private transportation as well, and are increasingly popular in the tourism industry.” The government has recognised the importance of this sector to the economy and intends to further empower those involved in the industry. In the 2018 budget, Finance Minister Samaraweera proposed to introduce the ‘tourist friendly tuk-tuk’ concept in collaboration with the hospitality industry.
This programme provides for existing three-wheeler drivers to register with the SLTDA so that a three-wheeler would not only be a mode of transportation, but the driver to serve as a local tourist-guide as well.
This policy was initiated to create a win-win situation for all stakeholders involved and improve the quality of services provided in the tourism industry.
This program is now being implemented successfully with 589 drivers joining the training programmes already.
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| Electric three wheeler |
The introduction of electric three-wheelers to this industry is another important new policy. Minister Samaraweera said, there are several reasons for the shift from the fossil fuel tuk to the electric version, and environmental concerns are chief amongst them.
As part of the Paris agreement, Sri Lanka has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 10% in the transport sector by 2020.
Among the host of recommendations, one way to achieve this reduction is to convert the existing vehicles to ‘zero-emission’ vehicles, which would cause minimum levels of pollution and carbon footprint.
The number of three-wheelers in Sri Lanka has increased eight-fold since the year 2,000. The fuel consumption per person has increased from 90 litres to 150 litres during the same time. In 2017, Sri Lanka spent nearly USD 3.5 billion to import fossil fuels for the generation of electricity and transportation.
This is equivalent to around 4% of GDP.
Therefore, Sri Lanka needs a longer term sustainable solution to mitigate the negative environmental consequences that arise as well as a solution to minimise the forex outflows from the country.
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