Sri Lanka has decided to halt the Colombo light rail project, funded by Japan International Cooperation (JICA) as it was too costly and brought low returns, Government ministers said.

" The light rail project stretching from Colombo to Malabe was not cancelled by JICA. It was in fact cancelled by the government of Sri Lanka due to it being too costly and not productive enough," Co-Cabinet Spokesman Minister Bandula Gunawardena told reporters at the press conference held yesterday (18) to inform the Cabinet decisions.

" Many buildings will be affected as a result of the Colombo light rail project. This will cause major damage to properties and we will have to compensate them for that. Hence, it is not productive. That is why the project was cancelled," Co-Cabinet Spokesman Minister Ramesh Pathirana said.