COLOMBO, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's cabinet has approved a proposal to change existing provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act to allow the registering of electric three-wheelers, cabinet spokesman Bandula Gunawardena told reporters on Tuesday.
The cabinet of ministers approved the proposal to publish it in the government gazette and would submit it for parliamentary approval consequently, Gunawardena said.
The country's Motor Vehicles Act stipulated that the tare weight of a motor tricycle should not exceed 500 kg, but due to the electrically charged batteries used in electric three-wheelers, the tare weight of such three-wheelers could not meet the standard.
The bill removed the requirement of the tare weight upper limit, an obstacle to the registration of electric three-wheelers, and has received the clearance of the attorney general.
There are about 1.2 million three-wheelers on Sri Lankan roads, and over the next five years Sri Lanka plans to electrify half a million three-wheelers, Gunawardena said. ■