Metro Colombo Urban Development Project :

Colombo - soon a world class city

By Ranil WIJAYAPALA

Metro Colombo Urban Development Project, aimed at flood and drainage management in the Colombo city and to bring about qualitative and visible changes in the metro Colombo region considered as the international gateway to Sri Lanka is now under way, to be completed in the next five years to turn Colombo into ‘a truly world class city’.

The mega project costing US $ 223 million jointly funded by the Government of Sri Lanka and the World Bank was launched last Monday at the Waters Edge under the patronage of Secretary of Defence and Urban Development Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

“The Metro Colombo Urban Development Project aims to solve several of the city’s longstanding infrastructure constraints. I am confident that its successful implementation, together with the other initiatives of the Government to develop Colombo, will help transform this city into a truly world class one”, delivering the keynote address at the project launch, Rajapaksa said.

The Project area will comprise four urban local authorities: the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC), Dehiwela-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council (DMLMC), Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte Municipal Council (SJ-KMC), and Kolonnawa Urban Council (KUC).

The Project will be managed by the Project Management Unit of the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development, while implementation responsibilities rest with three Project Implementing Agencies: Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation (SLLRDC), Urban Development Authority (UDA), and CMC. The implementation period is April 30, 2012-June 30, 2017.

Five-year undertaking

The Metro Colombo Urban Development Project is a five-year undertaking that comprises three main components. The first component of the project is to address the various flood and drainage issues that the metro Colombo region suffers from because of its rapid, organic growth during the past several decades. Under this component, the city’s drainage infrastructure, including its micro drainage channels, primary and secondary canals and lakes will be rehabilitated. “The work to be undertaken on the Beira Lake is a particularly important feature of the project, because the lake had been virtually neglected for many decades. Its gates were not functioning, its tributaries and output channels were blocked and the unauthorised settlements and buildings on its borders had severely polluted the water. Instead of being an attraction, the Beira Lake was an eyesore”, the Defence Secretary added. “Its rehabilitation will restore it to its former splendour, and greatly enhance its utility. Once developed, the Beira Lake Linear Park will play a vital role in the city’s flood management system, whilst also being the site of many recreational and economic activities. It will be a worthy centerpiece to the revitalised city of Colombo”, he added.

Under the Beira Lake project the East Beira, bordered by D.R. Wijewardena Mawatha and T.B. Jayah Mawatha and the West Beira towards the sea side of the Sir Chittamapalam Gardiner Mawatha which are not accessible to the public due to inadequate bank protection and multiple uses along the shoreline will be developed as Linear Park. In the first phase, protection walls will be constructed along 2.5 km of shoreline on the West and East Beira Lake and steps will be taken to restore McCallum Lock Gates, which have historic value. In the second phase, a 4 kilometre pedestrian path/promenade, with an average width of 6 metres, will be constructed on top of the protection walls providing a natural connection between the east and west Beira Lake waterfronts and the walkways connected to the South West Beira Lake waterfront facing Navam Mawatha. This subcomponent will aim at improving the public fruition of the east and southwest Beira Lake through the development of a continuous promenade (linear park) and green areas (nodal park), along its shores, and establishing a natural park on a wetland branch of the old Parliament Lake. Ultimately a continuous recreation space within the core area of the city, which has potential for development by the private sector, will be created.

According to the project component a similar attempt will be made to improve Beddagana Park in the Kotte Municipal Council area with the objective of ensuring the protection of the Beddagana Wetland and Sanctuary and Kotte ramparts from future encroachments and enable it to function as a flood-retention area for the city. The target area is a 32-hectare marshland and wetland habitat in the SJ-KMC and a part of Parliament lake. In a context of rapid urbanisation, this area provides locals and visitors a rare glimpse of a wetland habitat that is home to several species of flora and fauna.

The development of Beddagana Park aims at enhancing the hydrology of the wetland area by cleaning existing canals, reforestation of areas that have been deforested to enhance bird habitats, provision of bird-watching hides, towers, boats walls, nature trails, and orientation centre to create awareness about the sanctuary to visitors, provision of play areas at the boundary of the wetland sanctuary and a 2.2 km jogging track for recreational use, and to improve the existing bund road.

Apart from this major project, the components to address the flood and drainage management will also include the development of, main drain and Mutwall Tunnel, Dehiwela Canal, St. Sebastian South and Dematagoda Canals, Secondary Canals (Sethsiripaya road and Sarana Mawatha Canals), Madiwela East Diversion Scheme, Wellawatta and Poorwarama Canals, St. Sebastian North and Sri Wickrema Canals, North Lock Pumping Station and North Lock Gates, St. Sebastian South Diversion Canal, and the Construction of New Mutwal Tunnel, Galle Road Bridge Across Wellawatta Canal, Armagoda Culvert at Madiwela East Diversion Scheme, Restoration of Kolonnawa Retention Area and the Beira Lake Water Quality improvement.

Under this component the development of an integrated flood management system and interventions to enhance the economic value and aesthetic qualities of the water bodies will also be supported.

The project will also allocate funds to the Colombo Municipal Council to improve the capacity and performance of 15 micro-drainage systems in 15 selected flood-prone areas under the jurisdiction of the CMC. These 15 micro drainage systems have been identified out of the 45 areas identified by the Colombo Municipality.

Main component

According to the Defence Secretary, the second main component of the project is aimed at supporting the local authorities in the metro Colombo region to rehabilitate and manage the drainage and public infrastructure in their areas. “Selected roads in various parts of the region will be improved. Pedestrian facilities and public conveniences will be upgraded in key locations, and the overall quality of public walkways will be improved”, he added.

Development of the Town Hall Square in the Colombo city as a Model Development Zone will be one of the key projects under the component of Urban Development, Infrastructure Rehabilitation, and Capacity Building for Metro Colombo Local Authorities. The objective of this sub-project is to physically improve and functionally upgrade the Town Hall Square and surrounding area. Interventions include retaining the existing architectural and environmental character of the area while improving access to all public areas located within the Square.

The Colombo Municipality will also undertake many other projects including the development of a Water Front Recreational Park at Crow Island and Marine Drive Promenade for the public to have more recreational areas within the Colombo city. The construction of Pedestrian Overhead Bridges at Kollupitiya and Bambalapitiya Intersections connecting the railway stations with Galle road is another key feature of the project. The objective of this sub project is to create safe, convenient and uninterrupted pedestrian links between crowded railway stations and two main intersections at Bambalapitiya and Kollupitiya along the Galle Road, and to facilitate ease and safety of movement between the railway stations and bus terminals along these intersections. The total length of overhead pedestrian bridges will be about 570 metres.

Apart from this improvement of the Galle Road R.A. De Mel Mawatha will also be included in this project as a key component to be undertaken by the Colombo Municipality. This will support the rehabilitation and improvement of the level of the service of two key arteries - Galle Road and R.A. de Mel Mawatha. The CMC has already rehabilitated the segment of Galle Road (from Bambalapitiya to Kollupitiya) and under this project the R.A. de Mel Mawatha will be developed. The road segments to be rehabilitated have a total length of about 10 km. The improvement of the public convenience facilities and the walk ability improvements in the city of Colombo will also be key features of this development project.

The improvement of public convenience will include the improvement of the existing public toilets at 14 selected locations in the city that will provide hygienic and convenient sanitation facilities for the public including the daily commuters, and domestic and foreign tourists.

The walk ability improvement project aims at providing pedestrians with safe, clean, and convenient improvements in walkways along primary, secondary, and tertiary road networks, to improve access to commercial and recreational spaces such as Beira Lake Linear Park and Town Hall Square.

The third main component of the project involves providing support for the project’s overall implementation.

“This is an area that is often neglected in projects, which results in outcomes that are short of what was initially expected. The fact that implementation support is being considered as a separate component here is therefore quite encouraging. The capacity enhancements and improvements in monitoring and coordination that will be made possible through this component will not only help ensure the project’s success, but will also benefit the various authorities involved in the longer term”, Rajapaksa added. “This project — alongside others being undertaken by the Government — is intended to greatly enhance the functionality and unique character of this city”, he added.

He said as a historic, multicultural, tropical city bordered by the sea, Colombo has many natural advantages that should be capitalised on. Its historic architecture, greenery and public open spaces must be further highlighted, and its people-friendly nature further fostered. “It is with such improvements in mind that the Government has launched many initiatives through which it hopes to further develop Colombo”, he added.

He said particular care is being taken to improve the vitality of the city’s public open spaces. All residents of Colombo should have access to public areas not far from their homes in which they can relax, exercise, and interact with one another freely.

“With this in mind, several projects were launched to improve the quality of existing urban spaces. The development of Independence Square is a good example”, he added.

“With the removal of walls and fences that obstructed parts of it, and the development of walkways and bicycle paths around it, Independence Square has now been transformed into a high quality public space that the residents of Colombo very frequently utilise”, he added.

“With the development of the Beira Lake Linear Park and the Beddegana Park, as well as several waterfronts in various parts of the metro Colombo area under the project being launched today, a lot of new public open spaces will also be created in the near future. This will bring back much of the people-friendly character that Colombo enjoyed back in the days when it enjoyed the reputation of being the Garden City of the East”, the Defence Secretary added.

Shared heritage

He said the unique blend of cultures and the shared heritage of the various communities of this country is another feature that the Government is keen to highlight during Colombo’s urban development. “There are a large number of very beautiful Colonial era buildings all around the city, as well as many ancient temples, kovils, mosques and churches. It is important to highlight this heritage. A number of projects have been launched to do so. The recent renovation and reopening of the long neglected old Dutch Hospital is a good example”, he added.

He said the demand from the private sector for similar spaces is very high. As such, more projects of a similar nature have been launched. For example, the old Colombo Racecourse, whose buildings had originally been scheduled for demolition, is presently being rehabilitated. Its pavilions will be conserved and converted to suit new activities, while the area with road frontage will be converted into an upmarket shopping complex. The racecourse itself will become an international standard rugby ground.

“Once this project is complete, it will further enhance the unique architectural history of the city”, he added. Apart from the development of the metro Colombo region, the Government also has ambitious plans for the development of the rest of Sri Lanka. Several projects have already been launched by the Urban Development Authority to develop cities and towns in every district of the country, and I am proud to note that a lot of good work has already been done at many of these locations, the Defence Secretary said.