Colombo's high-rise will outgrow economic bounds

by Elmo Leonard

Colombo's in-vogue concept of condominium or high-rise living, will face the challenges of shortages of water, electricity and sewerage disposal in the near or longer-term and needs remedial action.

If not implemented, the lives of the tenants or owners will become unbearable, while the property developers will no longer want to build high-rise buildings, chartered town planner, Prof. Ashley Perera said.

High-rise buildings in Singapore and Malaysia are linked to adequate supplies of water, electricity and sewerage. If such infrastructure is not met here, this late 20th century Colombo-phenomenon, will move out of economic bounds for developers, Prof. Perera said.

Besides, the Sri Lankan culture is not capable of affording a noise-free and peeping tom-less atmosphere essential for high-rise living. The developers have to provide large parking and recreation spaces which dilute the economics of building higher.

Colombo's water supply is obtained by tapping the Kelani river at Labugama and Kalatuwawa. The over-dredging of Kelani river sand, has in times of drought sent sea water up-river, halting the purification of water for human use.

The pressure of Colombo's water supply is often insufficient to go up a few floors, and large pumps must be employed to provide a continuous flow of water; a 40-level condominium in Colombo 4 is in the pipeline, being a BOI, India-Sri Lanka collaboration project.

The collapse of three and four level buildings in India is now common, while some high-rise buildings are being built under Indian collaboration. It would be gainful to make sure that high-rise buildings coming up here will not collapse, Prof Perera said.

The high-rise buildings being constructed are aimed at high-income groups and does not address the problem of housing for the low income class.

Prof. Perera said that he will not recommend the building of high-rise buildings for living, in Colombo. Rather, he urged the authorities to study the problems the tenants of high-rise buildings would face, and address such issues, before more such buildings are allowed to be built.

Watercuts are common in Colombo, while a reliable water supply source must be made available, to cater to such demand, Prof Perera said.

Singapore imports its supply of water, coming from a Malaysian region, sparsely populated. Yet, Singaporean residents are discouraged from long term, total dependence on pipe borne water for fear of contracting water-related diseases, Prof Perera said.

The same reality of weaning away from tap water for drinking applies in other parts of the developed world and often, artificially sweetened mineral waters are commercially available, nearby.

Singapore is now building a large water recycling plant.

Colombo knows no plans for water recycling, common in the developed world, and highly developed in USA, where human-used water is recycled many times, before it is allowed to flow out.

The same source of water is used in Colombo for drinking and washing cars; a luxury denied to the developed world.

Tapping the ground water of Colombo's suburbs is no longer hygienic, bearing growing populating density where human waste readily enters ground sunk wells, through natural water springs.

In two years Prof Perera lived in a flat in London, he experienced no electricity failure; in Colombo, the power cuts are frequent. A power cut could lead to people being locked up in lifts. Also, most people living in condominiums do not like to climb over ten floor levels. An electricity fallout could prevent pumping water while sewerage disposal is dependent on water.

The high temperature and humidity of our country is not conducive for high-rise living in Colombo, for if the electricity fails, air conditioners go out; the temperature of a condominium could then make it uninhabitable.

The capacity of electricity supply must be constant and not fluctuate, as it does here. There must be a higher voltage for industrial areas and lower electricity capacity for homes.

Colombo's sewerage system, well over 100 years old, has not had its capacity increased during this time and is on the verge of breakdown.

A private sewerage system to facilitate high-rise buildings would be very expensive. Insufficiently treated, or raw sewerage is disposed into the sea at several points. Condominiums must take sewerage system into contention.

Kirillapone in Colombo is out of sewerage bounds while only 80 percent of Colombo's land area is linked to sewerage disposal.

Peeping tomism is known to be common in the Narahenpita flats, Colombo 8, for instance. Noise associated with the Sri Lankan society is unconducive for students to study. In Hong Kong, where high-rise buildings is the norm, many thousands of students study inside its airport, with no fee levied. In Sri Lanka there is no such private place for student study.

The decentralisation of trade in Colombo, with the opening of the economy in 1977, lead to shopping centres being established in multi-storied buildings, Kiribathgoda and Nugegoda leading the list.

Decentralisation of Colombo's commercial areas was also hastened due to the influx of cars, and consequent crowding of the city's parking spaces. Main Street, Pettah, Colombo 11 is one of the main areas which underwent trade decentralisation, losing its retail consumer durable market to the suburbs. It is with the success of shopping condominiums, that high-rise living in the metropolises came into vogue, Prof Perera said.

No long-term study has been done on high-rise buildings in the city, which are sold to the occupiers. What would happen in the event that the water system or plumbing, breaking down? Who will maintain it? In the event of a condominium having to be demolished and some tenants do not agree to restructuring, a host of problems will surface.

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