Fleet of vehicle to be imported includes 700 other essential vehicles: Minister

By Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera

Colombo, Nov. 19 (Daily Mirror) - The fleet of vehicles that the government is planning to import includes 700 other essential vehicles required for the Local Government institutions throughout the country, Trade Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe said today.

The Minister told Parliament that the fleet of vehicles includes 100 gully bowsers, 175 tractors, 100 backhoes, 160 tipper trucks, 75 motor graders and 90 three-wheelers.

He said most Local Government institutions have faced difficulties in functioning due to lack of essential vehicles and that most of the vehicles are old or out of service.

The Minister said the government decided to import new vehicles due to maintenance and high fuel costs of the existing vehicles in most government institutions.

"The government cannot afford the maintenance and fuel costs of V8, BMWs and other expensive vehicles," he said.

Samarasinghe said the government has to bear a cost of Rs. 3,350 million for the maintenance of the fleet of 4,000 vehicles in government institutions.