Under MCUDP:

Beira Lake, from backyard to a showpiece

By Ranil Wijayapala

An artist's impression of the new Beira Lake

Hamilton Canal

'Beira Lake' or the Colombo Lake as it was called during the colonial era would have been the most glamorous attraction in the city of Colombo as history reveals that the lake has been covering about 165 hectares of land in the city when it was originally created by the Portuguese in 1521 as a lake that protected their Fort from the locals.

The 'Beira Lake' that heralds such a rich history driven towards the Portuguese era may have undergone many changes during the past as it was used for different purposes during its centuries old history. For instance, the Dutch who ruled the coastal belt of the country from the 1658 to 1796 have made use of this attractive waterfront for military purposes while the British who ruled the country from 1796 to 1948 used it for economic purposes.

Therefore, this lake had undergone changes to cater to different objectives of different groups of people in its existence. But today anybody who visits the city of Colombo may not feel that lake is a part of the city and also property that can be accessed by them for recreational or any other purposes.

May be the bad stench that emanate from the lake due to its neglected state would have been one reason for the people to distance themselves from the lake, but the inaccessibility to this great waterfront would have been the main reason for making it distance from the people. But the Colombo city realised the bigger potential this water body is having to refresh the minds of people when the Urban Development Authority rehabilitated the South West Beira or the part of Beira Lake adjacent to Nawam Mawatha and Gangarama temple to the present status making it a part of the city and a major attraction of the people.

However, the East Beira Lake adjacent to D.R. Wijewardena Mawatha, the Galle Face Lake and the West Lake has been in a neglected state for years without any rehabilitation, making it a sore spot to the public.

So, this great water body which has been identified as a place that has to be developed into a major attraction of the city, after a lengthy study carried out by the Urban Development Authority together with a panel of foreign experts to make use of this water body to reap maximum economic benefit to the city as well as to the country, is now drawing the attention of the authorities along with the great effort made by the Government to make Colombo an attractive city.

Therefore, the recommendations made in that study completed in 1996 is now slowly turned into action to make this water body a big attraction in the city of Colombo. Urban Development Authority under the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development is making that effort under the Metro Colombo Urban Development Project (MCUDP) with funding from the World Bank. The ongoing activities such as the removal of some structures around the Beira Lake adjacent to D.R. Wijewardena Mawatha heralds some of the major changes directed towards turning this great water body into a major attraction and also an economic booster. Deputy Director Planning of the Urban Development Authority and the Deputy Project Manager, Beira Lake Development Project under Metro Colombo Urban Development Project N.A.S.N. Nissanka, says that the Beira Lake Restoration Master Plan completed in 1996 was aimed to integrate and restore the lake into the city to act as a catalyst for comprehensive development of appropriate, compatible, and desirable users.

“The objectives of this master plan was to promote optimal utilisation of lands, recreation , and to improve public access to the lake and to facilitate the lake view creating windows connecting the city and the lake”, he said.

Under this master plan it was suggested to have a water management plan, environment improvement plan and a business plan.

“What we are doing today is to implement the recommendations in that Master Plan in a step by step process and the funding from the Metro Colombo Urban Development Project has been allocated to implement a few of such recommendations”, explaining the ongoing project undertaken by the UDA to develop Beira Lake under World Bank funding, Nissanka said.

Dredging the sediment and treating the sediment, cleaning of water, disconnecting the waste water outlets and the monitoring of the water quality have to be done under a water management plan and the Colombo Municipal Council is already engaged in the process disconnecting illegal waste water outlets and sewer line to the lake and channelling them to new lines to facilitate this process.

“The Environmental Improvement Plan has recommended dredging the lake, development of Linear Parks and Nodal Parks around the lake and the re-settlement of about 1,000 families in a new location”, Nissanka said.

He said the resettling of the families living around the lake is being done under relocation of underserved settlement by the Defence and Urban Development Ministry after supplying them with quality and better housing facilities as promised to them by the Ministry.

“Under the Business Development Plan we are planning to release urban lands for development and it proposes to relocation of existing inappropriate uses such as under-served settlements, stores, garages, industries etc. to suitable locations”, he said.

Therefore, the lands will be redeveloped for more productive use, such as offices, apartments, banks and commercial establishments.

“To implement the business plan of the Beira Lake project we have identified D.R. Wijewardena Mawatha from Lake House junction to Gamini Hall roundabout and we have declared that zone as a Tourism Related Development Zone”, he said.

“We have to remove some of the buildings such as warehouses to facilitate the establishment of star class hotels, city hotels, restaurants, shopping malls and luxury houses. When the Galle Face side is developed with the construction of Shangri-La Hotel, D.R. Wijewardena Mawatha will also be developed parallel for the promotion of tourism”, he said.

The Lotus Tower comes at the edge of the Beira Lake and that will be one of the major attractions in the area.

“With the above development the stretch of lands mostly facing the East Beira, gets a magnificent view and most of the sites are located in close proximity to the City Centre, the Railway Station, Bus Stand and major city hotels. At the same time the existing land use mainly contribute to be developed as IT Parks, offices, business centres, recreational and amusement centres and other related uses and functions”, he said.

“When we are allowing construction we are giving guidelines for them. “This will be a part of the Colombo city development drive like the way we are constructing the Colombo Fort, Tripoly Market development, Bus Stand Terminal development and other major development projects”, he said.

“The economic advantages of the project goes to the business establishments around the Lake and it will also address the issue of the lack of space for the people living in the city as it will provide a required space for the people”, he said.

Giving more insight about the concepts behind the Beira Lake development project, Deputy Director (Projects) of the UDA and the Deputy Project Manager, Beira Lake Development, Anusha Liyanamana said that the Beira Lake development comes under waterfront development projects of the MCUDP funded by the World Bank, which includes the flood mitigation and capacity improvement of Municipal Councils and Urban Councils among its objectives.

“Since UDA undertook the development of South West Beira (Gangarama side) development project we have undertook the East Beira (D.R. Wijewardena Mawatha side), West Beira (Slave Island and Army headquarters side) and Galle Face Beira under MCUDP”, she said.

“Beira Lake water body is one of the important assets the Colombo city is having at present. This is now at a neglected state and it has become a backyard in the city . The concept behind the development of Beira Lake is the conversion from Backyard to a Front Yard”, explaining the concept behind the project, she said.

“All the water bodies in the country are common to all and they have made public properties under an Act. All these water bodies are having reservations and we are developing this project in the reservation area under the Beira Lake. There is no need to acquire any land for this project”, she said.

“Though there are unauthorised settlements around the Beira Lake, we are relocating people giving them better quality housing units to facilitate the project. But for the East Beira, East bank development we did not want any relocation except for the people who lived in the area demarcated for the Lotus Tower development project”, she said.

According to Liyanagama a Linear park with a width of six metres will be constructed along the banks of the East Beira Lake enabling the people to walk on the jogging track.

“We make use of the reservation of the lake for the Linear Park. Nodal Park that facilitate the people to rest and relax will also be constructed along the bank of the lake at different places. We are making paving, planting trees and having seats for the people to relax and it can be accessed in the day time and night as well with the lighting systems to be installed along the lake”, she said. To facilitate this, the banks of the lake have to be strengthened and the section from Hyde Park to Postal Department building has to be strengthened by having gabion walling. Apart from that, Linear Parks will be constructed along the Galle Face Lake and the West Lake adjoining the Army headquarters and the Defence Ministry.

“That will enable the people to enter this area from the Galle Face side also. Like that we are creating connections with many parts of the city through these linear parks. There will be Nodal Parks to provide leisure areas for the people to rest while walking in the linear parks”, she said.

Apart from that a Marine Museum will also be constructed close to the McCallum Lock Gates connecting the East Beira Lake with the Colombo Port.

“The Ports Authority will undertake the restoration of one lock gate which has been used to take barges to the lake to unload goods to the warehouses located around the lake”, she said.

“We have phased out the project into a few packages and we are in the process of awarding the tenders to the contractors to commence construction work within a few weeks time”, she said.

“By June this year we will be able to start all the phases of the project and within one year we will be able to complete the project enabling the people to have a relaxing walk in the city by making this historic lake a common property of all the citizens in the country”, she said.