In 1980 the services of Nihal Sri Ameresekere were retained by the Government of Sri Lanka, with President J.R. Jayawardene appointing him to control the finances of the State owned all-island Bus Transport Industry, operated by a Central and 10 Regional Boards, comprising 92 Bus Depots and 14 Workshops, with 9000 Buses, spread islandwide .

Nihal Sri Ameresekere was appointed, as Part-time Finance Director, to a Special Board of 5 persons, constituted by President J.R. Jayawardene, and was responsible for the management and control of the finances of the all-island operations of the State Transport Boards.

At that time, The World Bank had commissioned a project to improve the systems of the State Transport Boards. 5 foreign Consultants from Crown Agents of UK were handling The World Bank assignment.

After the Special Board was constituted, the services of 4 of the 5 foreign Consultants were terminated, and a separate Office of the Finance Director, Nihal Sri Ameresekere, was established to implement the functions and responsibilities of those 4 foreign Consultants. The only foreign Consultant retained was the expert specialized on Bus specifications.

Nihal Sri Ameresekere and the Special Board successfully discharged the functions and operated the all-island Bus Transport Service, achieving 92% of the planned time-table operations, and managing with the own funds generated by the Bus operations, without resorting to any subsidised finances from the Treasury of the Government of Sri Lanka.

Visiting foreign missions highly commended Nihal Sri Ameresekere on his services rendered and the successful results achieved, as evidenced by the following Letter, which was addressed to him by the General Treasury. Having accomplished his task Ameresekere resigned in 1982.

Subsequently, in view of the above work successfully carried out by Nihal Sri Ameresekere, The World Bank in 1989 invited him to be a Senior Consultant and form his own team of Consultants to carry out a restructuring of the State Sector Bus Transport Industry, by decentralizing this centralized giant organization.

The Government of Sri Lanka and The World Bank contracted Comindtax Management Services Ltd., now Consultants 21 Ltd., for such major restructuring assignment.

Having submitted the Plans and Proposal in a Report in March 1990, together with several Volumes of data pertaining to the all-island organizational network, the first phase of the restructuring assignment, covering the entire island, was successfully completed by 1993, with the performance thereof being monitored.

The giant labour force extended their full co-operation to the restructuring strategies and processes pursued, in view of the several Meetings had by Nihal Sri Ameresekere and his team of Consultants, with all levels of personnel in the all-island organization, to transparently explain to them the restructuring strategies and 

Nevertheless, the Regulatory Authority, as was recommended in the Plans and Proposals, stipulating its functions, was not implemented by the Government Officials, who instead established a mere Transport Commission, devoid of the requisite regulatory role and authority.

The second phase of the assignment, which was to be implemented in 1994, was held back in view of the General Elections of 1994, and with the change of the Government after the General Elections of 1994, and with the new policy vision adopted, the second phase of restructuring process was not proceeded with.