1

THE ROLE OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY IN

INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SCIENCE AND

TECHNOLOGY

FUNCTIONAL PAPER ON TRANSPORT

INFRASTRUCTURE

Amal S. Kumarage

Senior Lecturer, Transportation Engineering Division,

University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka.

kumarage@sltnet.lk

1998

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FUNCTIONAL PAPER ON TRANSPORT

INFRASTRUCTURE

Amal S. Kumarage

Senior Lecturer, Transportation Engineering Division,

University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka.

kumarage@sltnet.lk

ABSTRACT

Transport is integrated to all aspects of society and the economy. This paper attempts to

understand the relationship that transport has to the development of the sectors of focus at the

BICOST-II Conference. These sectors are

• Foods and Agriculture

• Health and Environment and

• Trade and Industry

The paper identifies several areas for developing the transport sector to achieve development

in the food and agricultural sectors in Sri Lanka. These include areas of inter-regional

highways, rural roads, transport vehicles, goods handling and packaging, as well as the design

and location of agricultural markets. In the health and environmental sectors, attention has

been draw to the effects of traffic congestion particularly on air quality, the impact of

transport related pollution and the high toll on the burden of disease resulting from road traffic

accidents. The investigation into the impacts for the development of trade and industry looks

at the sitting and the transport infrastructure requirements for establishing industrial estates.

Furthermore, discussion is made on how transport access and mobility could be improved for

developing each of the provinces or regions within Sri Lanka for specific industrial growth.

The transport requirement for the growth of cities, particularly Colombo and steps required to

make the transport facilities in such cities of a modern standard is also discussed in detail.

1. BACKGROUND TO SRI LANKA’S TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE

Colombo has been the Primate City and Sri Lanka’s commercial and administrative capital for

several hundred years. This has also meant that Colombo has been a transportation terminus

or node, with the seaport and more recently the airport providing the interface for interchange

between internal and international transport of both goods and passengers. Thus Colombo has

been the focal point of external trade links as well.

During the period of colonial rule, the regional transport networks within Sri Lanka were

developed on this basis. In the case of the Dutch who ruled during a period where water

transport was widely used, developed an extensive network of Canals centered on the

Colombo port. The growth of the coconut industry particularly that of copra and desiccated oil

in the north-western coastal areas, as well as spices from the south-western coastal board was

due to the canal system of over 200 kms which transported these to Colombo for export to

Europe. The period of British rule coincided with the development of railways in many parts

of the world. It was introduced to this country in the latter half of the 19th

century and this was

used for the development of rubber and tea industries in many parts of the country,

particularly in the up to then under developed hill country. The railway network was later

supplemented by the trunk road system in the early part of the 20th

century.

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1.1. Status of Sri Lanka’s Present Day Transport Infrastructure

It has been observed in Kumarage (1998) that Sri Lanka has a high road density when

compared with its per capita income. Interesting questions are asked therein, why economic

growth in proportional terms has not followed the continuing investment in new roads. Recent

research has found (Litmann, 1999) that road density beyond a certain point does not translate

to economic benefits, especially when the burden of maintaining existing roads does not

support the economic activity levels. This is because the large sums for maintenance of roads

deprive much needed funds required for other developmental activities that are in turn

required to generate economic activities.

Due to this reason, in Sri Lanka, maintenance has been poor and the entire road network

cannot be considered as being well maintained. More seriously, a very large part of the road

network has to be rehabilitated as the original design life has been overrun. This is mostly due

to the unsustainabiliy of the extent of the network and partly due to the non-existence of a

highway master plan. Till 1986, expenditure in the road sector was heavily tilted towards

maintenance, averaging around 30% of all annual expenditure. This was due to the policy of

maintaining the large rural road system predominantly as a welfare measure for rural and

remote communities. While this achieved some of the desired objectives of providing rural

accessibility, it also effectively prevented the construction of modern limited access roads

between urban centers.

An analysis of the road densities in Sri Lanka (Kumarage, 1998) reveals that the top of the

road hierarchy is under represented. This means that Sri Lanka does not have a suitable

network of trunk roads befitting modern technological standards. The speeds at present,

average between 20-30 kms per hour in the Western Province and in the hill country and

between 30-50 kms per hour in other areas.

The railways though having a wide network of lines radiating from Colombo has failed to

match the roads and their share of passenger and goods traffic has dropped to less than 5

percent in either case. This is mostly due to the fact that the railway has not provided adequate

reliability and speed to compete effectively with road transport. The railway does however

offer more competition in the Colombo Metropolitan Region, particularly during peak periods

when trains run to capacity and are faster than road traffic. However, continuously ineffective

management and lack of a service orientation have not enabled the railway to fully exploit the

advantages of rail operations in urban areas, even though Colombo in particular is well pre-

disposed towards an effective passenger service.

2. TRANSPORT REQUIREMENTS FOR DEVELOPING THE FOOD AND

AGRICULTURE SECTORS

Food and agriculture are important economic sectors in Sri Lanka. Agriculture comprises

mostly of paddy, pulses, vegetables and fruits. Plantation crops such as tea, rubber and

coconut may also be included in the broader category. From a consideration of transport,

animal husbandry and fisheries may also be also considered. These combine to contribute up

to approximately 20% of the GDP (Central Bank Annual Report, 1998) at the present times.

Moreover it is an important source of employment, absorbing approximately 36% of the

entire employment opportunities available.

Most of these agricultural products are also produced in other SAARC countries. With the

introduction of the South Asian Free Trade Agreement, succeeded by the South Asian

Preferential Trade Agreement in 1998, Sri Lankan agricultural products have had to compete

with imports from other South Asian markets. In a paper studying the potential of the Sri

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Lanka’s connectivity to the Asian Highway (Kumarage, 1998a) it has been shown that

presently shipping costs are highly competitive with road haulage. Thus importing

agricultural products from other SAARC countries will become an increasingly common

factor as the differences between the costs of internal freight haulage and that of international

shipping keeps reducing. This would affect both the consumer who has to pay higher prices

for essential food items grown locally, and also the producer who has to incur large transport

costs discouraging him from producing more.

In this background of competition for agricultural goods, the cost of transport becomes an

important consideration in maintaining the stability and continuity of Sri Lanka’s food and

agricultural sectors. Transport costs include both the direct cost of haulage and also a

number of hidden costs often ignored in policy making. These include the cost of delay,

especially given the fact that the value of most agricultural products sharply drop with time

due to their perishable nature. It also includes costs of damage in packaging and handling.

The efficiency of the transport and distributing network is also critical in minimizing

distances, transfers and double handling in the movement of produce between the farm-gate

and the retail market.

Figure 1, shows a typical access-hierarchy between human settlements as they are classified

in Sri Lanka. The rural areas wherein most of the agricultural production takes place are thus

dependant on a well laid out transport network to access markets, services, jobs which are

usually available in the correspondingly higher order centers.

A Class

B Class

C Class

1 st Order

2 nd Order

3 rd Order

4 th Order

5 th Order

GALLE MATARA

HAKMANATANGALLE

WEERAKETIYA

COLOMBO

MEDAGAMABELIGALGODELLA

MIDDENIYA

Centre

Centre

Centre

Centre

D/E Class

Centre

Figure 1: Access – Hierarchy between Urban Centres

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As shown in Figure 1, a rational network of roads and rails is necessary such that each urban

centre is connected to at least one urban centers of a larger magnitude. This should provide

the basis for connecting production and consumption areas effectively and the creation of

markets at suitable intermediary centers.

2.1. New Expressways

Modern access-controlled inter-regional expressways that can give average speeds of between

60-80 kms per hour are necessary to give the desired mobility of inter-regional travel in Sri

Lanka. Such a network of expressways is necessary to promote the hierarchical development

of urban centres, which is a foundational requirement for systematic growth of agricultural

markets. Figure 2 shows a basic network of around 600~800 kms considered necessary for Sri

Lanka’s immediate requirements (Kumarage, 1998). It is shown that for a systematic regional

development, this network should be centred on the Western Province and extended to the rest

of the country within a 15-30 year period at most. Such a network must also take into account

the placement of regional agricultural markets, which was discussed earlier. This efficient

connectivity between the producer areas, the regional markets and the retail markets is vital

for the cost-effective transport of agricultural products.

2.2. Rural Roads

New rural roads are usually justified on the basis that they provide access to remote

communities that would otherwise be served only by footpaths. In rural areas, a walking

distance of up to 3 or 4 kms is not considered excessive. However, such distances restrict the

movement of agricultural produce as well as the transport of the sick and elderly.

Given the fact that Sri Lanka's rural road network is not severely deficient in extent, its further

expansion would have to be based on a rational policy of assessments of benefits to costs. In

this context, the contribution of any proposed rural road to improving the productivity of land

and human resources through agricultural development should be a primary criterion for

improving rural access. The second dimension of availability is the reliability of the delivery

Figure 2: Proposed Limited Access Highway Network

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service. Reliability of rural roads includes the proper maintenance and periodic rehabilitation,

as well as the regular operation of public or para transport services. For example, providing a

paved road that cannot be maintained properly is a far worse situation than providing a lower

grade gravel or compacted earth road. This is critical in order for vehicles to be able to access

farms when agricultural crops are ready for harvest (University of Moratuwa, 1999).

2.3. Rural Transport Vehicles

The four and two wheeler tractors and since of late the three wheelers, are widely used in

rural areas for the carriage of agricultural commodities. The wide mix of vehicle sizes and

their operational characteristics enables a choice of vehicles based on size of load and type of

terrain in most instances. However three wheelers in particular are not designed for the

carriage of agricultural produce and damages in transport are considered higher.

The most sought after transport service in rural areas is the bus. In fact, similar to the

provision of rural roads, the State initiated many rural bus services during the 1950s and

1960s. The design of a bus should however vary depending on the transport requirements. For

example, a bus serving a village comprising small holding agricultural lots, should ideally

have sufficient and well-designed space for the transport of vegetables, fruits and other

produce. A collection of such buses could be given to each bus depot to be used selectively on

routes by rotating them when weekly fairs (polas) are held. Alternately, a policy of allowing

multi-purpose (i.e. passengers & goods) transport services, perhaps using non-conventional

vehicles may have to be adopted. Moreover, such vehicles could be chosen (or designed)

according to the type of terrain and the type of road available. The requirement for typical all-

weather roads necessary for conventional bus services may also be circumvented.

2.4. The Transport Vehicle

Refrigerated trucks are still sparsely used in the transport of agricultural products. Even

though recent tax concessions have been provided, this remains a relatively undeveloped area.

Except for a few marketing organizations that undertake their own transport, the regular

transporters of perishable agricultural products have not improved the quality of transporting

agricultural products. The primary reason for this is due to the individual transporters having

no built in incentive to provide a better quality of service as their is no mechanism to receive a

higher revenue for transporting their cargo in refrigerated trucks. The absence of refrigerated

storage in Colombo is a further reason. Refrigerated trucks will become popular if the pricing

structure of perishable commodities becomes adequately sensitive to quality.

2.5. Regional Wholesale Markets

The Manning Market and 5th

Cross Street in Pettah has been historically the wholesale market

for most agricultural products. Its success was unparalleled for many years, partly due to the

centrality of location with respect to the consumers in the Western Province. It was also

assisted by a trunk road system that radiated from Colombo to other provinces.

In the present times, these factors are fast changing. Population centers are forming and being

encouraged to form elsewhere in the Western Province in places such as Aturugiriya,

Matugama etc (UDA, 1999). Moreover, the trunk road system has become congested and

travel to the centre of the city has become time consuming and costly. Therefore, a new

concept of markets and distribution patterns is timely. A new wholesale market suitably

located in the Western Province, well connected to a few regional markets have become

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necessary due to these changes. Already, such a regional market has evolved at Dambulla.

There appears to be scope for at least two more regional markets, one in the south and one in

the hill area.

2.6. Inaccessible to the Dambulla Special Economic Zone & Markets

The transport linkages that make a market successful are often ignored in planning such

facilities. For example, even though Dambulla is considered successful, the Uva province has

poor access to Dambulla even though it is relatively close by. Farmers in Uva are unable to

send their produce to Dambulla since there is no travel time advantage to lorry transporters in

going to Dambulla. Whereas Colombo that takes the same travel time but offers a greater

potential of a return haulage is Advantageous for road haulers. Thus if Uva produce is to

reach the Dambulla market in significant volumes the travel time should be significantly

reduced, especially from areas in Uva such as Welimada, Uva Paranagama and Bandarawela.

2.7. Facilities at Markets

The Manning Market is the country’s premier wholesale agricultural market. It is highly

inefficient with waste, delay being very high. Most of these are transport related and are

itemized as follows:.

• Poorly located so that access is difficult and slow for produce as well as buyers and

sellers.

• Poorly designed internal roads totally inappropriate for loading and unloading of

goods.

• Inadequate space for the parking of lorries, often overflowing to the Bastian Mawatha

and beyond.

• A large number of three wheelers used in distribution have increased congestion

within the market.

• A large fleet of push-carts and natamis milling around the lorries with little space

makes mobility slows and difficult.

• Hundreds of individual consumers and commuters also use the retail facility of

Manning Market thus adding to problems of congestion.

• Loading, unloading and carriage of goods between lorry and shop is done entirely

manually. No new technology has been introduced.

2.8. Goods Handling Technology for a Market Complex

The present system of loading/unloading and the carriage of goods between shops and lorries

have not seen any technological improvements since the inception of agricultural marketing in

Colombo. All packages are moved either manually or by a push cart. Presently, the entire

process of unloading and loading is also manual. These movements are time consuming and

clumsy and the result is that a large portion of produce is lost due to damage. This result in

damage to commodities and delays all adding up to the final selling price. The proposed

Warehousing Complex at Orugodawatte presents itself as an opportunity of introducing

modern facilities, some of which are listed below:

• Improved designs of loading/unloading bays that are designed at tailgate height.

• Improved transport containers such as crates and boxes instead of traditional

gunnysacks.

• Minimizing of excessive handling by proper internal circulation, storage and retrieval.

• Provision of cold storage facilities to encourage refrigerated transport.

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A new market complex should anticipate the introduction of new technology even at a later

stage if the high unemployment and traditional practices do not permit a sudden and

immediate change. Thus modern loading and unloading bays as well as internal delivery

systems should be planned. Mechanical systems either through using moving belt technology

similar to baggage handling at airports or a system of mechanically operated trolleys that pick

up and deliver between lorries and shops should be planned. The physical loading and

unloading from lorries should also be planned to introduce forklift type of operations. For

example the lorry loading ramps should be build up to platform level so that an unloading

machine could be driven inside the lorry. This could be introduced in stages so as not to

deprive the natamis out of jobs. However, this will become an important element of a

successful market and improving efficiency would not be possible unless such measures are

implemented.

3. TRANSPORT REQUIREMENTS FOR DEVELOPING THE ENVIRONMENT

AND HEALTH SECTORS

Transport is directly related to the environment and the health of the population of a city or a

country. A clean and healthy environment is increasing at stake with rapid motorization

especially in situations where the provision of road space required cannot be provided without

seriously affecting the environment. This is made worse when as a result of poorly planned

out transport policies road congestion increases particularly in urban areas. Another problem

affecting the health of a country is the high burden of disease imposed due to traffic accidents.

3.1. Traffic Congestion

Congested road conditions can have seriously detrimental effects on the environment, in

particular air quality and noise pollution. Congestion arises due to increase vehicles on the

road. Ironically this happens mostly during traffic peaks, when the most number of people are

on the roads as well. This means large numbers of people become vulnerable to respiratory

diseases such as asthma -widely prevalent today.

To some people, congested highways are also a symptom of deteriorating quality-of-life-in a

community. The amount of time that is spent on commuting to and from work is also in

reality, time that is taken away from social interactions or pursuit of activities that have a

personal value and satisfaction. Increasing social problems referred to as Highway Rage (or

Road Rage) experienced in many countries where drivers show hostility to each other most

often due to the frustration of slow moving traffic is becoming a serious social problem as

well.

The strategy for managing traffic congestion requires a scientific approach. This begins with

determining the level of traffic that a city or metropolitan area can sustain. The present rates

of vehicle ownership in Sri Lanka, is around 74 vehicles per 1000 persons. This increases to

97 per 1000 in the Western Province. In Colombo District, this increases further to 141 per

1000. In Colombo City, this is even higher at 262 per 1000. The fact that within most parts of

Colombo City and also in many parts of the Colombo District, traffic congestion is a regular

feature indicates quite clearly that the present level of vehicle ownership therein, cannot be

sustained. This as described before, is because the demand that these vehicles generate cannot

be matched by the provision of the required increase in road space. This means that the

saturation levels for the present transport infrastructure appears to have been already reached

in these areas. This is saturation level is based on three distinct parameters.

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• Population Density

• Performance of Public Transport

• Road Length

Table 1 shows the corresponding land use density, incomes and performance of public

transport associated with the respective levels of sustainability in vehicle ownership. On an

international comparison, the ownership of vehicles in cities in the USA, Canada and

Australia show that sustainability levels can be as high as between 600 to 700 vehicles per

1000 persons. These rates are associated with, high incomes and low levels of public transport

use at less than 5%. The population density of these cities is generally low and below 25

persons per hectare. Most European Cities on the other hand, maintain incomes comparable to

the earlier group of cities, but have significantly higher public transport patronage of around

25%. In these instances, the vehicle ownership rate appears to saturate at around 300 to 400

vehicles per 1000 persons. In these cities however, population density is higher (25-75

persons/ha). Most cities also apply some degree of traffic restraint usually in the form of

parking limitations. The third group refers mostly to Asian cities, where vehicle ownership

levels seem to taper off at even lower levels. Public transport in these cities is between 50-

80%. This is achieved by intensifying improvements to public transport and simultaneously

applying equally intense traffic and even vehicle ownership restrain measures. These cities

have much higher population densities at over 75 persons/ha.

Table 1: Vehicle Ownership Saturation Levels with Urban Parameters

Population

Density

Population

Density

(persons/ha)

Roads

(m/person)

Share of

Public

Transport

Car

Ownership

Saturation

(per 1000 p)

Restrictions

Low < 25 > 4 < 5% 600-700

Little or no

restriction on

ownership.

Moderate 25-75 1-4 15-35% 300-400 Some traffic and

parking restrictions

High > 75 < 1 50-80% 200-300

Traffic and

Ownership

Restrictions

Based on a comparison of the above cities in Sri Lanka, which in most cases have low road

densities and high population densities and are presently public transport oriented, would only

be able to sustain relatively lower levels of traffic and correspondingly lower vehicle

ownership (CUTS 2, 1999). Higher levels would become unsustainable resulting in low travel

speeds, environmental problems, parking problems and overall high cost of mobility.

Table2: Critical Parameters Determining Sustainable Vehicle Ownership in CMR

Region

Vehicle

Ownership

Level 1998

Share of

Public

Transport

1998

Population

Density

(per/ha)

Road

Density

(m/person)

Desired Vehicle

Ownership

Saturation Level

(per 1000 persons)

CMC 262 50% 174 0.2 200-300

Colombo

District 141 55% 30 1.8 300-400

CMR 97 60% 13 2.8 400-500

Sri Lanka 74 60% 3 5.5 -

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As shown in Table 2, in the case of the Colombo City which has in excess of saturation has

already been reached, whereas in other parts of Colombo District, where on account of the

fact that public transport has a good coverage, it would be most desirable to target for

saturation levels of around 300 vehicles per 1000 persons. In this case, there is some growth

possible before saturation occurs.

Such a situation can only be arrived through specific interventionist policies that bring about

balanced transport growth (e.g. as the New Deal Transport Policy in the U.K.). It is clear that

without any interventionist measures, vehicle ownership will continue to increase with

incomes and traffic congestion will continue. This should then influence all transport policy

and infrastructure planning within the CMR and its sub regions. This would mean that policy

directive should be aimed at controlling vehicle use starting from the CMC and then

spreading to Colombo District before extending to all of the CMR. Such policy should take

into account steps to maintain the public transport share, while planning for traffic restraint

measures and measures to manage the ownership and use of private vehicles.

Such a process for solving traffic congestion involves a scientific approach that can be

outlined as follows:

The Short-Term Strategy 1. Managing the Transport Supply: Managing the transportation system by adding new

facilities or by making operational changes to improve system performance is the most

common response by engineers and even politicians and administrators to solve

congestion problems. These measures can be better understood by classifying such

attempts as follows.

(a) Adding new transport infrastructure capacity

(b) Improving existing infrastructure for increasing capacity

(c) Operational Improvements to existing infrastructure to increase capacity

2. Managing the Transportation Demand: In its broadest sense, demand management is

any action or set of actions intended to influence the intensity, timing, and spatial

distribution of transportation demand for the purpose of reducing the impact of traffic

flow. These can be categorized under the headings.

(a) Re-distribution of the spatial form of the demand for transport:

(b) Re-distribution of the temporal pattern of the demand for transport:

(c) Re-distributions of demand between the modes of transport:

Long-Term Strategy

Solving traffic congestion in the long-term however requires even wider strategies and

policies. These can be identified in to four categories. These are also discussed in brief.

(a) A land-use strategy compatible with transport capacity

(b) A Vehicle Ownership strategy compatible with road capacity

(c) A strategy for public transport compatible with population density

(d) A strategy for new modes of public transport compatible with personal incomes.

3.2. Death & Injury

The World Health Organisation (WHO, 1999) has drawn attention to the steady increase in

the burden of disease caused by traffic accidents. The statistics for 1998 indicate that out of a

reported 6 million injuries world wide, nearly 20 percent were due to road traffic accidents,

ahead of suicides, homicides and even war. Deaths due to road accidents are presently ranked

10

10th

in causes of all death (natural deaths included), but are projected to occupy the rank 3 by

the year 2020. It is however, at present the leading cause of death in the ages up to 50 years.

The number of road accidents reported in Sri Lanka has topped 50,000 for the past few years

and has been steadily increasing at over 4.3% per annum over the last 20-year period. Among

these are many accident fatalities numbering over 2,000, which are also increasing at 3.6%

per annum. This increase can be best understood in relation to a number of features such as;

(a) Increasing population;

(b) Increasing vehicle ownership rate (where vehicle fleet is growing much faster than

the population);

(c) The subsequent shift from safer modes of public transport to less safer private

transport modes (e.g. from bus to motor cycle);

(d) The partial de-regulation of bus operations and the subsequent lowering of safety

standards especially among private bus operators and

(e) The increasing mobility of Sri Lankans due to increasing incomes.

By a simple comparison of road accident fatalities with total deaths recorded in Sri Lanka in

1997 (Department of Census and Statistics, 1998), it transpires that 1 in 60 deaths in Sri

Lanka occur due to a road accident. In 1977 this ratio was 1 in 127 deaths. It should be noted

that in developed countries, the probability of death due to road traffic accident is even higher

recording 1 in 25 deaths (WHO, 1999). Kumarage, Abeygunawardena and Wijesundera

(2000) show that the risk is seen to increase mostly for vehicle users (i.e. motorists) rather

than for pedestrians, even though the fatality rate for pedestrians too has increased by around

10% over 20 years. But this is marginal when compared to the increase of nearly 200% for

vehicle users. Thus it can be concluded that while the fatality rate among pedestrians indicates

that safety has deteriorated marginally for them, the most significant increase in accidents is

observable among those using vehicles. This of course is mostly due to the increasing vehicle

use by the population. A further analysis of the risk among the different vehicle users has

shown that it is highest among pedal cyclists, followed by motorcyclists. The lowest fatality

rate is for public transport users. The economic loss of such accidents is estimated to be in the

range of nearly Rs 10 billion annually.

Table 3: Vehicular particulate emissions and hospital admissions/deaths from

respiratory diseases.

Vehicular

Particulate emissions

Hospital

Admissions rate1

Hospital

death rate2

1991 435.3 1435.3 1217

1992 504.7 1326 1326

1993 612.4 1609 1435

1994 746.4 1539 1379

1995 793.4 1561 1488

1996 731.9 1626 1657

3.3. Environmental Pollution

There is little information on the health damage to vehicular emissions in Sri Lanka.

Although there are many limitations (as noted by the authors), this is also the only study that

is based on clinical data. Table 3 gives comparisons made by Chandrasiri and Jayasinghe

1 admissions are recorded for diseases of the respiratory system (excluding URT diseases, pneumonia, broncho-

pneumonia and influenza), per 100,000 population 2 hospital deaths from the same causes, per 1000 population

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(1998) between recorded vehicle emissions and hospital admission with respect to respiratory

diseases. It also states that 94% of hospital physicians interviewed asserted that the increase in

respiratory diseases was related to vehicle emissions. A fuller discussion on the impacts of

vehicular emissions in Colombo city can be found in the recent work by Munasinghe, et al

(2002).

4. TRANSPORT REQUIREMENTS FOR DEVELOPING THE TRADE AND

INDUSTRIAL SECTORS

Sri Lanka has been attempting to develop its industrial and commercial capabilities in recent

years. The growth in this respect has been far from satisfactory. The poor state of

infrastructure facilities has often been cities as a primary reason. The growth of industries

require good linkages between the inputs required for production namely access to resources

as well as employees. The ability to transport goods to and from markets or ports efficiently

and reliably is a fundamental requirement. The comfortable and convenient travel for its

employees to and from homes is another vital requirement. Fast and reliable travel for the

business purposes particularly within important metropolitan areas is also vital for

development of modern commercial centers.

4.1. Industrial Locations

However, in Sri Lanka no specific transport developments were linked with industrial

attempts since independence. The small to medium scale industries that have begin in Sri

Lanka over the last thirty years or so, have for the vast majority been located in the Colombo

and Gampaha district. This is due to the availability of suitable human resources and the

density of development in these districts as well as the close proximity to the Port of

Colombo. It has been noted by Kumarage (1998) that over 80 percent of small and medium

scale industries have located within one hours travel distance from the port. This has caused

an imbalance in economic growth between regions in Sri Lanka. Moreover it has put

tremendous pressure on the Western Province to provide the infrastructure, services and

employment required for these ever growing industries, while other regions languish for want

of industries. These factors has put the road transport system in the Western Province in to a

crisis as evident by the chronic congestion and generally slow traffic speeds mostly due to

haphazard roadside development that has taken place.

Due to this poor state of affairs the potential for further industrial growth in Western Province

or the CMR is now doubtful. This is based on the hypothesis that a good transportation system

is an important selling point to communities that desire to attract development that provides

for employment and growth. If transport costs due to congestion increase, goods and services

produced within that city tend to increase in costs thus losing competitiveness in international

markets. Efficient transportation access is therefore a very important consideration as it has a

direct impact on sound and sustainable economic growth and productivity. The cost of

congestion in the Western Province of Sri Lanka is over Rs 20,000 million per year (around 3

percent of Regional GDP). This has to be ultimately borne by the production of goods and

services in the area. It adds to the cost of production and diminishes the potential for income

growth and also diminishes prospects for further investments.

4.2. New Industrial Estates

The University of Moratuwa (1999) carried out a transport study of Avissawella town with

respect to the development potential of the Seethawaka Industrial Estate (SIE) situated within

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its urban limits. The SIE at full operational capacity requires around 20,000 direct

employment at the proposed 78 factories and a further 9,000 indirect jobs within the

Avissawella city limits. A further 9,000 jobs are anticipated as indirect employment

elsewhere in the region.

It had been estimated at the time of planning the SIE that 53,000 unemployed persons

presently reside in an area of 12 km radius that could be employed. However, the university

study points out that the present condition of the transport services does not enable all these

potential employees to take up employment at the SIE. This is because in order for persons to

travel to work, they should be within a travel to work catchment area. If sufficient persons do

not live within this catchment area, then it is most likely that filling vacancies within the SIE

would be come difficult.

The study points out that by comparing the current wages, transport costs, value of time and

accommodation costs, the potential catchment area should be defined in terms of travel time

rather than distance. It thus appears that one and half to two hours journey time should be

considered as the commuting threshold for employees living within the catchment area of the

SIE. This reduces the potential work force to 23,000 employees far below the original

estimate (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Travel Threshold Based Catchment Area for SIE in Avissawella

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Clearly this would be insufficient to meet the requirements of the SIE and its associated

developments. Transport based solutions for this are given as:

a) Improve the transport network in order to extend the travel based catchment area

accessible within two hours;

b) Increase potential for hostels and lodging facilities within walking distance (less than

1.5 kms) to the SIE;

c) Increase potential for boarding facilities within commuting distance (less than 10 kms)

to SIE;

d) Combination of one or more of the above.

4.2.1. Developing the Industrial Potential of Regions

Many regions in Sri Lanka outside of the Western Province have very little industrial

development. Kumarage (2000) shows that in Uva Province, which has one of the lowest per

capita incomes, there are only a handful of establishments in the manufacturing industry

(other than agro processing which is included under agriculture). However, the potential of

the tourist industry does not seem to have been fully exploited in this province.

It was observed that there are many places of cultural and scenic beauty that are of tourist

interest. Uva is in many aspects a most diverse tourist destination, but largely under

patronized. The reason for this is the poor connectivity to Uva from other parts of the country.

For example, the connection between the popular coastal areas spanning from Beruwala and

Negombo with Uva are extremely poor. Even to access Uva from Nuwera Eliya or Kandy (the

popular hill country resorts) is time consuming. More homogenous tourist locations such as

Habarana and Dambulla have in recent times become more popular among both foreign and

local tourist as against Uva, where foreigners are seen in isolated numbers and locals visit

largely for the purpose of enjoying the climate during a period of three to four weeks per year.

While it could be argued that hotel and other tourist facilities are also under developed, the

basic problem is one of transport connectivity. This study suggests a transportation strategy to

promote tourism in Uva. Among these is an approach to Uva directly from Kandy without

climbing up to Nuwera Eliya (where tourist would stop) and the re-creation of the Royal

Routes constructed by kings in olden days.

4.3. Creation of Tourist Routes and Access within Uva

The tourist potential in Uva could be well blended with the highway planning so that as in

other countries, thematic highways especially designed with ‘out-of-province’ tourists in mind

are designed and engineered. Many tourists prefer destinations that have varied attractions

ranging from scenic beauty, wild life, cultural and religious value. The highways in Uva could

integrate such places and create such tourist routes.

The most important such route that can be recreated is the Raja Mawatha from

Tissamaharama to Polonnaruwa. This route then connects Tissamaharama, (Yala) -

Kataragama- Buttala (Maligawila) Badalkumbura- Medagama (Inginiyagala Nat. Park)-

Bibile - Mahiyangana (Wasgomuwa Nat. Park)– Siripura – Dimbulagala to Polonnaruwa.

The total distance is 255 kms, and if connected by the existing road network with minor

improvements and a few new links it can be traveled within six hours. Such a route would

indeed be a popular route for both local and foreign tourist. Adjacent urban areas such as Ella

and Bandarawela may also benefit by tourists who may chose stopovers for the climatic

attractions and the terrain.

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Another potential tourist route maybe the recreation of the other Raja Mawatha, which

connected Kandy to Badulla during the period of the Kandyan Kingdom through Bogoda and

Walapane. Moreover, there is much potential within the province to declare several highways

as ‘protected’ and specially developed for the purpose of enhancing the scenic beauty for the

traveler. Special building regulations would have to be enacted to prevent constructions that

may sever such view. Special turnouts for viewing such places would be most useful.

4.4. Developing the Potential of Cities

Cities are vital for the growth of countries. The ability for cities to develop in trade and

commercial activities is critical for the growth of other sectors in rural and provincial areas.

For this purpose, urban areas should have well functioning transport systems. Colombo for

example has not had any significant development in its transport infrastructure or services for

a considerable period of time.

As pointed out earlier, Colombo will have to continue to depend on public transport as a

primary mode of passenger travel. However, its bus terminals have continually been neglected

to a point of been an embarrassment. Even though the city has grown and developed in many

aspects over the last decade, the central bus station has remained in Pettah, outgrowing its

physical environment. Kumarage (2001) has suggested the redevelopment of the bus

terminals in order to better serve the present day needs of the traveling public. The following

recommendation are made:

(a) New Multi-Modal (train/bus) terminals at Fort-Pettah, Dematagoda, Borella and

Narahenpita.

(b) New Bus terminals at Grandpass and Pamankade to accommodate bus services

running through city terminating at each end.

(c) Well-designed rail to bus transfer locations adjacent to the railway stations at

Maradana, Slave Island, Kirulapone, Wellawatte, Bambalapitiya and Kollupitiya.

(d) A set of bus-to-bus transfer locations at locations such as Fort, Kotahena, Armour

Street, Town Hall and Tunmulla.

In addition a modern city should think of rail based public transport. Revitalising the existing

railway offers tremendous potential. However, in order to attract private vehicle users from

their cars and vans, Light Rapid Transit (LRT) is suggested as a potential mode (WS Atkins,

1999). This reports sets out several corridors on which LRT could operate at economic

viability.

5. CONCLUSIONS

This paper has investigated the transport sector requirements for developing three sectors in

Sri Lanka:

• Foods and Agriculture

• Health and Environment and

• Trade and Industry

The emphasis on the use of Science in Technology in these tasks can be further identified as

follows:

Developing New Expressways: The expressways need to be planned out on well-established

transport planning methodologies that takes into account developmental benefits as well as

15

transport network connectivity. The University of Moratuwa (1999) has developed an

indigenous transport-planning model that has been used in some of the recent studies on

expressways. Such planning software should be further developed to determine even the mode

of transport that should be used rather than deciding a priory that expressways are the most

appropriate transport infrastructure.

Rural Roads: The extensive network of rural roads requires research for developing cost-

effective methods of maintenance and rehabilitation. Furthermore a rational means of

determining the benefit cost assessment of new roads is also required to ensure that new

investments in rural roads is justified.

The Transport Vehicle: Research and development initiatives are required to design and

popularize rural multi-purpose vehicles as well as vehicles for the transport of agricultural

produce.

Regional Wholesale Markets: Location theory and transport planning approaches should be

applied in determining the location for regional wholesale markets so that transport costs are

minimised and the benefits of such reductions could be transferred to both producers as well

as consumers.

Facilities at Markets: New markets should be designed to standards that would ensure high

efficiency, waste minimisation, and lower turnaround times for transport vehicles. A planning

approach and design suitable for Sri Lanka has been discussed in a study of the proposed

Orugodawatte Wholesale Complex (University of Moratuwa, 2000). This includes a suitable

goods handling system, vehicle parking system and internal stall layout that would optimise

total operational cost of the facility.

Traffic Congestion: The solution of traffic congestion requires the application of well-

researched methods some of which have already been a successfully applied in other

countries. The need to modify these according to local situations and to come up with traffic

demand strategies requires a scientific approach. This also requires the development of traffic

models and the application of traffic theory in determining most effective methods of

managing road space.

Death & Injury: The increasing burden of disease suffered by the country due to traffic

accidents requires urgent attention to mitigate both the incidence of accidents as well as the

severity of injuries. Following strategies adopted in many other countries, Sri Lanka too

requires setting out a scientific process of understanding the reasons why accidents occur.

This type of research allows for the identification and modification of the different factors that

causes accidents, such as road design, vehicle fitness, driver training, enforcement, road user

education etc.

Industrial Locations: Industries to be successful should be located in areas where the access

to markets and sources of resources, particularly labor is optimal. Transport Planning should

be a pre-requisite to proper sitting of industrial estates to ensure a close development of

industrial infrastructure and transport facilities.

Developing the Industrial Potential of Regions: Regional potential for attracting industrial

growth depends to a large extent on the access to other regions and especially to large

commercial centres, the port and airport. In this respect the development of critical transport

links is vital. Scientifically developed planning tools such as the TransPlan model should be

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used prior to making decision on investing in expensive transport infrastructure to ensure that

the intended regional benefits could be achieved.

Developing the Potential of Cities: The potential for growth in urban areas is an important

selling point for cities. Transport is a vital component in such a process. The ability to plan

out traffic circulation systems, public transport systems, terminals and rapid transit systems

are part of a successful urban transport system. The complexities of urban transport could

only be handled by application of the proper transport planning methodologies and the

software that is available today.

6. REFERENCES

• Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Annual Report, 1998.

• S. Chandrasiri and S. Jayasinghe, Health Effects of Vehicular emissions in

Colombo, University of Colombo, ISS Project Working Paper Series, 9805,

Dec.1998.

• Department of Census & Statistics, Statistical Abstracts, 1998.

• Kumarage Amal S., Sri Lanka’s Highway Network and its Connectivity to the

Asian Highway, 1st ASEAN Conference on Infrastructure Planning &

Management, Bankok, September, 1998.

• Kumarage Amal S., Formulation of Policy Framework for Poverty Alleviation:

Transport, November, 1998.

• Kumarage Amal S., Improvements to Access and Mobility in the Highway Network

in Uva Province, 2000.

• Kumarage Amal S., Cammilus Abeygunawardena & R. Wijesundera, Analysis of

Accident Trends in Sri Lanka, Annual Session, Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka,

2000.

• Litman Todd, Potential TDM Strategies, VTPI (www.vtpi.org), 1999.

• Munasinghe M, et al, Environmental Impacts of Transportation Sector Options in

Sri Lanka, World Bank Monogram, 2002.

• University of Moratuwa, Assessing Public Investment in the Transport Sector,

September 2001.

• University of Moratuwa, Transport Plan for Development of Avissawella Town,

1999.

• University of Moratuwa, TransPlan V3- A National Traffic Estimation Model for

Sri Lanka, 1999.

• University of Moratuwa, Traffic and Transportation Plan For The Shifting Of The

Vegetable Wholesale Trading Activities From Manning Market To Orugodawatte,

November 2000.

• WHO, “Injury: A Leading Cause of the Global Burden of Disease”, Geneva,

Switzerland, 1999.

• WS Atkins, Colombo Urban Transport Study- Part 2, Ministry of Transport &

Highway, 1998.