Minister of Transport Bimal Rathnayake says the temporary licences issued at the Katunayake Airport to tourists do not consist of licences for three-wheelers.
Addressing the Parliament today, Minister Rathnayake clarified that the temporary licences are only issued to tourists for light vehicles.
“The licences are only for light vehicles. The tourists are only able to use the licences for light vehicles used to transport themselves and their families while on holiday. They cannot drive any vehicle considered as public transport,” he said.
Clarifying that licences are not issued to tourists for three-wheelers, he said this was after considering safety risks and unfairness to those in the three-wheeler industry.
“Previously, three-wheeler licences were issued. However, we are not issuing such a licence. We have instructed the authorities to halt the issuance of three-wheeler licences under this system. This decision has been taken after considering the dangers to tourists and the impact on the three-wheel community,” he said.
Minister Bimal Rathnayake said that the aforementioned regulations are strictly followed when issuing licences to tourists at the Katunayake Airport, as well as the Department of Motor Traffic Office in Werahera.
He further acknowledged that the fee charged for the issuance of temporary licences for tourists was low, stating that the government hopes to increase the fee in the future.
“Representatives from tourism organizations met with us regarding this matter. During the discussion, they raised concerns that the current fee of Rs. 2,000 is too low. We acknowledge that as well; it’s roughly equivalent to six US dollars. According to the relevant gazette, we are authorized to charge this amount. That’s why we currently maintain the Rs. 2,000 fee. We intend to propose an increase in these charges to the Cabinet. Upon receiving Cabinet approval, we hope to publish new regulations through a gazette notification,” he said.
The Transport Minister added that this would allow the authorities to raise the fees charged for temporary licenses issued to foreign nationals. (Newswire)
