Sri Lanka speeds up towards E-mobility

By Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama
Sri Lanka is gearing up to embark on a transformative journey towards e-mobility, with the Transport Ministry announcing it is actively spearheading a pilot project aimed at popularising the registration and the use of electric vehicles (EVs) as a part of its e-mobility policy.
Initiated with the objective of mitigating environmental degradation and curbing the increasing reliance on fuel-powered three wheelers, the project is a collaborative effort between the Transport and Highways Ministry, the Department of Motor Transport and United Nations Development Agency (UNDP). Under the endeavour, existing fuel-based three-wheelers will undergo conversions to be powered with electricity. As of now a total of 1,184,423 three wheelers are registered in Sri Lanka.
A progress review meeting was held recently at the Ministry where stakeholders were appraised on the project’s developments and objectives. Technical, operational and practical implementations of the project were meticulously discussed along with extensive consultations with the stakeholders.
According to the UNDP, the project will be implemented in 3 phases, the incubation phase, the demonstration phase and the acceleration phase. During the incubation phase conversion of three-wheelers to EVs are to be tested. 
The demonstration phase will see the engagement of the finance sector for conversions. Finally the acceleration phase will see the usage of the market forces for the conversions through concessional financing.