Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation, Bimal Ratnayake, has taken steps to appoint three sub-committees responsible to the Ministerial Consultative Committee for resolving problems prevailing in the transport sector through transport-, environment-, business-and people - friendly concepts.

These sub- committees have been appointed in accordance with the decision taken at the meeting of the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation held on January 24, 2025, the Parliamentary Communications Department stated in a statement.

The first sub-committee has been formed to ensure job security of workers engaged in the informal transport industry and to create a professional recognition for workers engaged in the transport sector who are not formally organized. Accordingly, several issues including the provision of contributions from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and the Employees Trust Fund (ETF) for private bus drivers, conductors, three-wheeler drivers and those engaged in the transport sector through electronic applications (App Base Workers) will be examined, according to the statement.

Accordingly, Chandana Sooriyaarachchi (Chair), Jagath Vithana, Dinindu Saman and Dewananda Suraweera have been appointed as members of this sub-committee.

The Second Subcommittee has been established to guide the transport sector towards a productive direction by strengthening the legal framework associated with the transport sector. The objectives of this sub-committee are strengthening the legal framework associated with the transport sector, determining the direction of the transport sector in Sri Lanka in five years, giving special focus on problems faced by women and the community having disabilities in using modes of transport and proposing legal and administrative reforms towards the advancement of the transport sector

(Ms.) Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney at Law (Chair), Sugath Wasantha de Silva, Thanura Dissanayake and Sujeewa Dissanayake have been appointed as members of this sub-committee, it said.

The Third Sub-Committee has been appointed to formulate business models for creating additional services associated with the transport industry. This aims to develop areas linked with core aspirations of the transport sector using the available resources and to formulate business models for generating extra incomes through creating additional services. 

Members of Parliament Chathuranga Abeysinghe (Chair), Ravindra Bandara and Dhanushka Ranganath have been appointed as members of this sub-committee.