Colombo - engine room of country
Colombo is a city we are deeply connected to. It has most of the best
educational institutions, hospitals, residential facilities and tourist
facilities. The central administrative units of the Government are also
located within the Greater Colombo area. For these reasons it is safe to
say that nearly every Sri Lankan has had or some day will have a link to
this city.
Colombo is a historic city, known in the ancient world for being a
gateway to Sri Lanka. It was visited by Fa-hsien, who came to Sri Lanka
in the fourth century, and it is mentioned in the 14th century writings
of Ibn-Batuta.
From the 16th century it was one of the centres of colonial activity.
The Portuguese established a trading post there in 1505 and built the
Fort in 1518. For almost a century and a half it was their stronghold,
until the Dutch captured it in 1656. A 140 years later, the British took
over Colombo. After the fall of Kandy in 1815, they made it the capital
of the crown colony of Ceylon.
The development of Colombo as a commercial and residential hub owes a
lot to the British. Unlike the Portuguese and the Dutch, who viewed it
mostly as a military fort and trading post, the British set about making
Colombo a proper city. They set up the Colombo Municipal Council in 1865
and undertook the developments that turned the harbour into one of the
great ports in the region. The first formal development plans for the
city were also made during British rule.
The 1921 city plan by Sir Patrick Geddes provided for expansions to
the port, the setting up of parks and the zoological garden. It paved
the way for the further development of internal roads, including the R.A.
de Mel Mawatha (Duplication Road), which was created as a relief road to
Galle Road. Although the 1921 plan was not fully carried out, it
contained important proposals that have helped shape the city’s present
identity.
The 1940 Development Plan and Town Planning Ordinance established
outline plans for the municipal area and regulations for its
development. However, due to financial constraints, the plan was not
fully implemented. This non-implementation of plans for the city is a
recurring theme in its history.
After independence, the 1949 plan by Patrick Abercrombie outlined the
development of Ragama, Homagama and Ratmalana as satellite towns that
would help decentralise urban activities in the region.
The plan included a ring road to link these towns and the shifting of
central administrative functions to Ratmalana. This principle of
decentralisation has been one of the driving thrusts of Colombo’s
development plans ever since.
Unfortunately, it has not yet been properly realised.
Several other plans followed, in 1978, 1985, 1998, and during the
last decade. None of these were fully implemented. These
half-implemented plans for Colombo contributed to creating the large,
improperly organised city we know today. Future plans for the city’s
development must be viewed within the context of this history.
Future development thrust
Another context for these plans is the overall development agenda of
Sri Lanka. The driving thrust of the medium-term plan is to double per
capita income from US$2,000 to US$4,000 within a period of five years.
The recent Budget Speech delivered by the President outlined several
measures needed to achieve this target, including ambitious plans to
increase foreign and local investment, promote tourism, improve the
national infrastructure, enhance land utilisation and encourage village
centred growth.
While these plans are vital for encouraging regional development, it
must be understood that cities are the driving force of economic growth
today.
Cities serve as a focal point for commercial activities, investment,
and the provision of administrative and social services. That is why,
alongside its wide-reaching plans for encouraging regional growth, the
Government also has comprehensive plans for the improvement of Colombo.
These plans are centred on creating further scope for business
activities, residential facilities and the provision of services. These
will all cater to present and future opportunities that Colombo can
exploit. This city should not simply be the focal point for localised
economic activity, but should also tap international opportunities. The
city can easily attract more tourists as well as foreign investment in a
number of areas.
With the emergence of a large middle class in India numbering roughly
500 million, there are many opportunities for Colombo to position itself
as a preferred destination for business, shopping and vacations. Colombo
will also be the gateway for religious pilgrimages and tours in the rest
of the country for these visitors, whose culture has deep historic links
with ours. Another area in which Colombo has great potential is the
provision of conference and convention facilities for international
events.
With the country’s abundance of educated, qualified and English
speaking workers, there is also potential to further develop Colombo as
a destination for business process off-shoring. Yet another area in
which Colombo can benefit is through the setting up of international
educational institutions that will provide affordable, but high quality
education to foreign students.
To tap these opportunities and realise its true potential, there are
several aspects of Colombo that need further improvement. These include
increasing hotel capacity, particularly in terms of luxury accommodation
for high spending tourists; developing overall IT infrastructure to
encourage foreign companies to send their operations here; providing
more residential facilities for high net-worth individuals and providing
quality housing for middle-income segments.
Most importantly of all, Colombo needs to enhance its image as a
preferred destination for international business and tourism, as well as
a very comfortable city for all its residents.
There is a need to create more public outdoor recreation spaces, with
mini parks and community parks for residential areas and larger public
parks within the city. There should also be more greenery on the side of
the streets. Through these improvements, we will be able to create a
clean, green, attractive city that will be the centre of a resurgent Sri
Lanka. How we can achieve this must be viewed from the context of what
present-day Colombo is.
Colombo today
Colombo today is a large metropolis with a population of over
650,000. On a daily basis, hundreds of thousands more commute to the
city from the surrounding regions for work and education, and to obtain
commercial and administrative services. In terms of the facilities and
services available as well as the general infrastructure, Colombo is the
most developed city in the country.
For this reason, it is the centre of a lot of economic activity. It
is the axis of the Western Province, which contributes more than 50
percent of national Gross Domestic Product, contains about 37,000
industrial production units, employs over half a million people and
generates more than half a trillion rupees in value-added services. As
the focal point of all this activity, Colombo is not just the most
economically important city in Sri Lanka; it is the engine room of the
country’s economy.
And yet there are so many problems that have long beset Colombo.
These problems stem from a number of factors including the lack of
political will to reduce overdependence on the city, regulatory
confusion, poor funding, administrative inefficiency, and short-term
planning. As a result, despite all the positive things one can say about
Colombo, the following is also true: the city is badly congested, has
been poorly regulated, has overburdened infrastructure, lacks affordable
housing, and suffers from generally poor land allocation and utilisation.
There are many symptoms of these problems. The poor application of
regulations has resulted in large numbers of unauthorised buildings that
congest the streets, block the waterways and disfigure the city. The
recent flooding in Colombo is partly due to these structures.
Under-served settlements in Colombo-slums and shanties-house some 70,000
families. This is over half the population of the metropolitan area. Due
to poor land allocation and poor real estate development, there is
little affordable housing for the middle class. This has pushed
residential growth outwards, resulting in heavy traffic congestion at
commute times.
Apart from these inherited structural issues, there are many other
less complex problems that have prevented the fulfilment of Colombo’s
potential. These include the lack of improvements to the drainage
system, which is the other cause of the recent floods; the lack of a
proper waste management system; the lack of a conscious effort to
beautify the city; and the general lack of discipline in the use of
public spaces.
Current development plans
Having discussed the opportunities Colombo needs to target, and the
difficulties it needs to overcome, I would like to outline the measures
that have recently been taken to address them.
The development of community housing: The most pressing problem in
Colombo today involves the slums and shantytowns that house so much of
its population. The people in these under-served settlements live in
terrible conditions with few of the facilities most of us take for
granted. The quality of their housing is extremely poor. They lack
uniform access to proper sanitation and pipe-borne water. The
electricity they use is often tapped illegally and poses a significant
fire hazard. Their houses are concentrated within an extremely small
area and they have virtually no privacy.
Nevertheless, due to the economic dominance of the Greater Colombo
Area, the people in these settlements provide an essential labour pool
for the activities in the city.
Because of this, it is necessary to relocate them to better housing
facilities within Colombo rather than look to shifting them outside. In
this regard, the Government has taken action to construct high-rise
community housing within the metropolitan area to accommodate these
people.
The improved facilities they will receive should lead to the
upgrading of their quality of life. Relocation projects for under served
settlements have been tried in the past.
The Sahassapura complex in Dematagoda was set up eight years ago,
while the complex at Gunasinghapura was set up even earlier.
These projects were generally successful in improving the quality of
housing and rationalising the use of land, but there were also a few
systemic weaknesses that limited the uplifting of living standards of
the occupants.
These included the lack of a proper funding mechanism for long-term
maintenance; little effort being taken to educate the occupants and
prepare them for life in a new environment; and the lack of
comprehensive community facilities. These past experiences have been
studied and remedies to such problems have been introduced in the
projects that are currently under way.
I am pleased to note that the occupants of the 320 new housing units
constructed at Dematagoda have shown that they are quite happy with the
facilities they have received.
The Dematagoda complex only one of many projects that are presently
under way. Another 680 units are to be built there, along with a
3,128-unit complex at Salamulla for which the foundation stone was
recently laid.
The Government’s target is to relocate 30,000 of the 70,000 families
to new community housing within the next two years. Land for these new
centres has already been identified, and discussions have been held with
a number of interested companies for the construction of these
facilities. Several plans have already been submitted for UDA approval,
and construction work is scheduled to begin shortly.
The cost of this program is not cheap. Each new residential unit that
is established will cost two million rupees. Considering the number of
units that need to be created, this is a very large cost to the
Government. However, it is possible to fund these community housing
projects through allocating the valuable land liberated through
relocation for development activities.
Because the slums and shantytowns are all single storey or low-rise
buildings, they occupy vast areas of land. Since the community housing
to be provided will be in high-rise building complexes, a lot of
Government land will be freed in Colombo, which will be earmarked for
development.
This liberated land can be used for tourism and residential
facilities, business activities and other services. A great deal of
foreign investment is also anticipated for these development projects.
For these reasons, the feasibility of the project is assured.
A further benefit is that through relocations, slums and shantytowns
will no longer disfigure the city. Many of these unauthorised structures
are centred on strategic reservations around the public waterways and
the sides of the railway tracks. In particular, our waterways are badly
polluted because of the settlements on the sides of the canals. As a
result, the canals require a lot more maintenance to function properly.
Through the relocation program, it will be a lot easier to clean up the
waterways and create more public spaces including promenades, walkways,
cycle-paths and parks around the canals to enhance the city’s greenery
and beauty. This will create a healthier environment for the people in
the city.
The most important aspect of the community housing project is the
uplifting of the living standards of Colombo’s low-income families.
Through greatly improving their housing facilities and introducing
them to a more comfortable way of life, we will be able to provide these
people with the domestic environment they need to achieve social
mobility. This is the greatest contribution of the relocation program to
the people of Colombo.
Another area being looked into in terms of housing is the relocation
or redevelopment of run-down, legally-owned structures in Colombo. This
is particularly prominent in areas in Colombo North like Slave Island,
Fort and Grandpass, where there are a lot of small, haphazardly
scattered, private houses that should be upgraded. Unlike the slums and
shantytowns, these buildings are not unauthorised structures. As a
result, the UDA is discussing the best way for their redevelopment with
the owners as well as private developers. This program is being set up
as a public-private partnership that will be facilitated by the UDA. I
am pleased to note that there has been a good response to this
initiative so far.
Relocation
Another project being implemented in parallel with the
community-housing program is the relocation of Government offices and
buildings from Colombo city to Sri Jayawardenepura.
As mentioned earlier, the sending out of Government buildings from
Colombo to a separate administrative capital has been planned a long
time.
However, even though this program was part carried out in the 1980s,
there are still too many Government offices still occupying prime
locations in Colombo. Many of them are located in housing intended for
government servants in residential areas, which causes a lot of
inconvenience to the people in the area. All of these should be shifted
to the administrative capital.
As a first step towards speeding up the relocation of Government
buildings, a program is being set up to shift the offices of the Defence
Ministry, Chief of Defence Staff and the Headquarters of the Armed
Services to a combined office complex in Battaramulla. The Government is
in the process of making arrangements to provide the lands that will be
released through this relocation for the development of luxury hotels
and residential facilities in the heart of Colombo. Plans have been
finalised for an industry leading international hotel chain to create
world-class signature developments on these lands.
Another project being expedited is the second phase of the
Sethsiripaya complex. This high-rise building, once completed, will
house many of the remaining Government offices in Colombo. A 30-storey
building will be constructed as the third stage of Sethsiripaya to
accommodate the rest.
This will finally achieve the goal of rationalising overall land use
through centralising administrative functions at Sri Jayawardenepura. In
parallel to moving central administrative functions out of the city of
Colombo, work is being carried out to enhance the central business
district. The area around Fort is the oldest part of the city and has
several historic landmarks and buildings. It is also home to the head
offices of many businesses. The Fort area also has the advantage of
being a sea front city. Unfortunately, due to its organic growth through
the years, the full potential of this area has not been realised. That
is why the Government is putting in place several measures to develop
this historic part of the city.
One immediate measure is the relocation of pavement hawkers. It was
realised early on that although these people carried out their business
in unauthorised structures that obstructed city activities, they
comprised a large group of self-employed people with a lot of
entrepreneurial spirit.
That is why the Government has helped these people by constructing
separate central market facilities where they can continue to ply their
trades. Similar initiatives have been taken to relocate pavement hawkers
in Borella and Nugegoda.
Another project in progress is the relocation of certain facilities
to less obtrusive sites that will not impact the city’s image. The St.
John’s fish market is being relocated to Peliyagoda, where a modern
facility has been erected. A Dubai-style gold exchange will be built in
its place in Pettah. The Manning Market and the Wholesale Market have
also been earmarked for relocation. The central bus stand will be
relocated within the vicinity and will be provided better facilities.
Through these measures, the use of land in the Fort area will be
rationalised. More open spaces will be introduced, and historic
buildings and other landmarks will gain greater emphasis.
Other, simpler methods are also in place to beautify the Fort area
and make it a much more pleasant location. The historic city centre is
presently in a high security zone that allowed only limited public
access until recently. This area will be opened up for businesses,
restaurants, museums and other public facilities. Work is in progress to
make this a shaded, pedestrian only area that will restore the historic
city centre to its original beauty.
Old buildings are to be renovated and preserved so that their
character can be brought out. New developments can also be situated in
this area, but only in such a way as not to clash with the existing
buildings. A good example of this is the creation of luxury hotel and
residential facilities within historic buildings such as the Cargills
Building and the Grand Oriental Hotel. The idea is to modify the
interior while keeping the exterior intact. Discussions are already
under way with the owners of these buildings in this regard. Through all
these measures, the Colombo Fort area will be repositioned as a
recognised world-class historic city.
South Harbour
While urban regeneration is the common theme of all the projects
mentioned so far, the Government also intends to further develop Colombo
by creating new city space. Along with the Colombo South Harbour
Development project, plans are being drawn to create a new city on land
reclaimed from the sea.
This project will see the creation of a brand new city area nearly
400 acres in extent.
Because this reclaimed city will be planned entirely afresh, it will
have all necessary infrastructure, public facilities and services from
the very beginning. Nearly half of the reclaimed area will be set aside
for common facilities that will promote recreational activities and
tourism. These could well include open parks, water features, a sea
front promenade, a marina, an open-air theatre, and even an underwater
recreational facility.
The other half of the city space will be dedicated for commercial and
tourist developments as well as high quality residential facilities.
Transportation within this city space will be through a proper road
network that will include many shaded pedestrian only zones. High
quality public transport will be provided to minimise the number of
vehicles in the city, and a supplementary elevated monorail system is
also being considered. Because the quality of services and facilities to
be provided needs to be at a very high level, a separate city council
for its administration is also being considered. Once this project is
completed, it will vastly enhance Colombo’s image as the dynamic, modern
urban centre.
Before Colombo reaches this status however, there are several
facilities and services that need to be improved and developed.
The Development of Waterways: Foremost among these is the solution to
the present flooding problem. This is being undertaken in several steps.
First, all the unauthorised structures that blocked the drainage
system are being removed. It is not only the low-income segments that
have erected unauthorised structures along these reservations, but
businesses, the middle-class and high-income segments as well. All of
these structures are being demolished, and along with the relocation of
settlements on the sides of the waterways, this will greatly improve the
efficiency of the drainage system.
Further, since last year, the Sri Lanka Navy has been engaged in
dredging and developing the canal system in the city. Unlike in previous
years, when this work was undertaken on a section-by-section basis, this
time around the dredging of the entire canal system has been undertaken.
Close to 80 percent of the work in this regard has already been
completed.
Along with the development of the canals, water retention areas
within the city such as the Beira Lake are being dredged. New reservoirs
are being developed in the general area of Battaramulla, which will
prevent the flooding of the Parliament area. The reservoir already
created at Peliyagoda proved its worth during the recent rains. These
measures will improve the drainage system by providing more areas within
the city for water to collect before being sent out. In addition to
solving the flood problem, these measures will also help to beautify the
city by creating more water spaces and open areas. Colombo should not be
a concrete jungle, but a green city with a pleasing environment. By
improving the quality of the water retention areas, the overall
environment will be greatly enhanced.
A final additional benefit of the clearing of the waterways and
improvements to the water retention areas is that there will be scope to
develop more water-based recreational activities. Windsurfing, sailing,
water skiing and even punting or paddle boating can easily be developed.
This will further increase the services available in Colombo.
Developing a clean city: Another area that needs attention has been
the collection and disposal of solid waste.
The immediate problems have been rectified by regularising the
collection of garbage through police supervision, and by improving the
dumpsites for Colombo’s garbage at Meethotamulla in Kolonnawa. It is
essential that a proper system of collecting and disposing garbage will
continue to be enforced. Converting the present garbage dumps into
proper sanitary landfills is another project that will be prioritised.
Keeping the city clean also involves a lot of civic discipline, and
this is an area in which the citizens of Colombo need to improve.
Whatever attempts made to improve the garbage collection system will not
be enough if people randomly dump trash on the streets. Similar
disrespect can be seen in the way people paste posters at random
locations, rather than on the public notice boards that have been set
apart for them.
The amount of graffiti sprayed on the city walls is another eyesore
caused through the indiscipline of some misguided individuals. The
signboards and billboards in the city also need to be standardised and
regulated better.
These issues will need to be addressed through a combination of civic
education and stricter enforcement if Colombo is to become a truly clean
city.
Transport
Yet another area in which Colombo needs improvement is in its
transportation facilities. There are several areas that need attention,
including improvements to the road network, improving road discipline
and the provision of alternate public transport. Several measures have
been taken in the recent past to address these issues.
The road network is being enhanced through the improvements to Galle
road, the completion of Marine Drive, and the expansion of the one-way
system.
The introduction of bus lanes, the creation of more dedicated parking
spaces, better facilities for pedestrian crossings including disabled
crossings and overhead bridges, and stricter enforcement of road rules
will help improve road discipline. Finally, with the improvements to the
waterways, it has become possible to provide alternate transportation
through ferry services. This is already being introduced in certain
waterways through the Sri Lanka Navy.
Implementation of zoning: One other key issue facing Colombo is that
existing zoning regulations have not been properly implemented. This has
created many problems in residential areas, some of which have virtually
been destroyed by the setting up of commercial structures. The existing
zoning regulations will be strictly implemented, while adequate warning
and time will be given for the relevant businesses to relocate. Zoning
rules will be strictly enforced for all new developments in future.
Long-term solutions: The projects and measures that I have discussed
so far are immediate, practical methods of transforming Colombo from its
present status into a world-class city. Alongside this project-oriented
approach, it will also be necessary to introduce long-term measures to
prevent the causes that led to the haphazard growth of Colombo. In terms
of regulation, the different sector policies that result in overlapping
and contradictory laws and regulations will need to be streamlined.
Responsibilities must be clearly delegated amongst the central,
provincial and local bodies that regulate land allocation, utilisation,
zoning and other administrative functions. Solving this problem will
require some re-engineering within Government.
It is very important that all the relevant agencies such as the
Municipal Authorities, the UDA, Water Supply and Drainage Board, Land
Reclamation Authorities and the Utilities and Infrastructure Development
Authorities work with great dedication, commitment and coordination to
improve the metropolitan areas. It is also important to note that
Colombo cannot be considered in isolation, but the Dehiwala-Mt. Lavinia,
Kotte and Kolonnawa Municipalities must all function collectively.
Ultimately, it is necessary to establish a single central authority to
coordinate these various administration functions.
Along with this administrative streamlining, the ad-hoc planning
methodologies that were observed in the past will need to give way to
proper strategic planning processes that analyse available resources,
conceptualise a bold vision for the future, and generate a proper
integrated, dynamic structural plan for future development. It is
essential that all future plans ultimately uplift the living standards
and income levels of the people. Through greater consultations with all
relevant stakeholders and with some capacity enhancements, it will be
possible to move to a comprehensive strategic planning process that will
maximise the use of resources and accelerate economic growth.
Concluding thoughts
Development plans, projects, and policy proposals I have outlined
during the course of this oration stem from the Government’s sincere
commitment to develop Colombo. However, if we are to be truly successful
in this endeavour, the State cannot work alone.
There are many areas in which the private sector, academic
institutions, civic bodies and ordinary people can contribute. These
stakeholders must get involved in the planning and implementation of new
initiatives. It is important that these various sectors of society are
empowered to do so, and that a culture of discourse and consultation is
fostered in the planning processes. Towards this end, the State agencies
concerned need to reach out to society at large and encourage greater
public participation in these activities. The private sector and civic
bodies also need to take the initiative to generate further proposals
for future developments.
As importantly, the private sector must take the lead in capitalising
on the opportunities that will arise through the present and future
development plans. Although as a developing economy Sri Lanka needs
foreign investment to help fund future growth, it is the domestic
private sector that must drive the activities that will generate
prosperity. It is vital that we create domestic assets to capitalise on
future growth opportunities if the foundations we lay today are to lead
to a better tomorrow.
All of us desire a better Colombo; a city that is clean, green,
attractive and dynamic. Let us work together and work hard to achieve
this. Together, we can transform Colombo into a world-class city,
globally recognised as a thriving, dynamic and attractive regional hub
that is the centrepiece of 21st Century Sri Lanka: the Miracle of Asia.
Let us make this vision a reality.
(The above is the Sujata Jayawardena Memorial Oration delivered by
Defence Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Sri Lanka Foundation
Institute, Colombo recently.) |