Master plan vital to develop Colombo city

by L.S.A. Wedaarachchi

A master plan to develop infrastructure facilities in the Colombo city is being envisaged to expedite the smooth implementation of the sustainable Township Program (STP).

A survey revealed that half of Colombo's population consists of 65,000 households living in squalid slums and shanties which are unfit for human habitation. This population is concentrated in 1,505 settlements identified as undeserved settlements basically encroached on state owned lands with no proper titles.

Nearly one-thousand acres of prime land in the city of Colombo have gone into these settlements. Of the 65,000 housing units 50 percent are over 50 years while 80 percent do not have individual toilets and water supply.

The Chairman of the Real Estate Exchange Ltd (REEL) which comes under the Ministry of Urban Development and Water Supply, Bennet Cooray said all sectors related to land, housing construction and infrastructure development should work according to a master plan.

There should be a national policy to team up and expedite all operations, he said.

All outdated rules and regulations introduced decades ago delaying the resettlement and slum clearance activities, should be modified according to the present government policies, he said.

Prime land is very limited in the city for housing construction. To get the maximum use of the land highrise condominiums should be built. Due to the limited infrastructure facilities specially roads REEL has to limit some projects to four storeys.

The Chairman said four rehousing projects will be completed before the middle of next year. Nearly 500 families including slum and shanty dwellers will be given those houses under the re-housing program.

Having considered the experience of REEL the pilot project at Sahasarapura, these houses will not be less than 500 square feet. The houses under construction at Baseline Road, Borella, Kolonnawa, Waddullewatta, - Cyril C. Perera Mawatha, Colombo 13 and Weligoda at Mattakkuliya are 500 and 650 sq. feet.

According to REEL the six-year action plan and the "Pelin Mandira" housing program to construct 65,000 housing units will be built for those in undeserved settlements in the city. The main objective of this program is to fulfil the aspirations of the dwellers in the undeserved settlements by provisioning housing with all infrastructure facilities, liveable environment bringing them into the main stream of society through rehousing.

"To achieve this target within the fixed timeframe, a joint effort is essential by all the relevant sectors. Basic infrastructure facilities such as sewerage and water, electricity and roads should be developed fast to face the present housing demand. For example, the present sewerage and water systems were planned one-hundred years ago with a 350,000 city population. This is outdated and insufficient to meet the present demand. The road network too is also in a parlous state. Only the Baseline Highway has been completed.

The Colombo city in particular and the country in general should have a good transport system, electric monorail system, fly overs and subways, he said.

According to the Chairman the major problems faced by the housing construction industry are very high construction costs and ensuing delays.

REEL held a series of discussions with two Malaysian construction firms and selected local construction firms which work on the NERD and Kulasingha system to find solutions to these problems.

The Chairman is confident that reasonable construction costs and speedy construction methods agreed upon by these companies will bring benefits to the recipients. It is expected to complete three-thousand housing units before the end of next year.