300,000 vehicle number plates have accumulated in nine months.

It is reported that over three hundred thousand new number plates have accumulated at the Department of Motor Traffic due to the suspension of issuing vehicle number plates for approximately the past nine months. The issuance of number plates was halted since April last year due to issues that arose concerning the tender for number plate supply.

 As a result, more than three hundred thousand new vehicles and over 25,000 vehicles with transferred ownership have not received number plates. The Department of Motor Traffic further states that 55,238 vehicles, including motorcycles, were registered in January of this year alone, and it is expected that over one hundred thousand more vehicles will be added in the coming months.

With the re-permission for vehicle imports in February last year, after a suspension of nearly three years, a significant increase in vehicle registrations was observed. The Department of Motor Traffic points out that nearly two hundred thousand motorcycles alone were registered last year. Meanwhile, at the cabinet decision briefing held on January 6, Cabinet Spokesperson Mr. Nalinda Jayatissa stated that cabinet approval has been granted to a supplier for printing number plates. The minister further added that the tender has been awarded to South Asian Technologies, an Indian company.

Commissioner General of Motor Traffic, Mr. Kamal Amarasena, commenting to the 'Lankadeepa' newspaper yesterday (5), stated that new number plates could be issued in approximately three months. This tender has been awarded to an Indian company, and they have been given three months to install machinery and commence operations. Therefore, the Commissioner General explained that it would be necessary to wait another three months for the issuance of new number plates. However, Mr. Amarasena further emphasized that he expects the company to be able to start printing before the three months are up, and that these new number plates will be of international standard.