Railway stations to be fix with solar panels to generate revenue
Local News from Sri Lanka: To obtain more income, solar panels would be installed on railway station roofs and sold energy produced, Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Arjuna Ranatunga says. The private sector will be invited to supply and reorganize the solar panels on a profit-sharing basis, the minister said recently.
He revealed that several programs were in the pipeline to maximize the resources of the Transport Ministry, including the modernization of bus depots, the improvement of railway station equipment and the development of railway lands to boost tourism.
The Railway Department-owned big areas of property in unauthorized hands of Ranatunga, adding that it would be retrieved and developed in cooperation with the private sector to increase the tourism industry that gradually recovered after the suicide bombing of three luxury hotels in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa on 21 April.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said he expected that by November this year the tourism industry would be back on track.
The Tourism Development Authority said that in July this year 115,701 tourists visited Sri Lanka, an increase of 83 percent over the past month.
Meanwhile, Minister Ranatunga accused the Ministry of Finance of delaying its authorized Cabinet proposition to import 2000 low-floor luxury busses aimed at providing better service and dissuading the public from leaving public transportation and using private vehicles and taxis that added to road congestion.
There was a 3000 bus shortage, he observed.
Ranatunga claimed that the Ministry of Finance was only interested in importing luxury busses for the private sector, making public transport more expensive.
The trains would belong to the Transport Board after six years, he said, where investor funds were used. The minister noted that introducing low-floor buses would be of enormous help to individuals with different skills as public transport is not presently geared towards their comfort.
“We’ve been importing buses with lorry chassis for a long time now, but we want to take down luxury buses for individuals to travel comfortably with changes to the highways,” he added.
Source : businessnews
