Sunday Dec 15, 2024
Sunday Dec 15, 2024
Wednesday, 24 July 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Ashwin Hemmathagama – Our Lobby Correspondent
Lawmakers passed a historical resolution yesterday in Parliament, adding 1,105 acres of the Port City Colombo to Sri Lanka under the provisions of the Administrative Districts Act.
Internal and Home Affairs and Provincial Councils and Local Government Minister Wajira Abeywardana moved the motion for the land of Port City Colombo, encompassing the extent of 446.6153 hectares, to be annexed to the Colombo Divisional Secretariat area, and the Administrative District of Colombo. As per the plan prepared by the Surveyor-General, the Colombo Port and Chaithya Road East will be a connecting point to the boundary of the Colombo Divisional Secretariat.
Moving the motion, Minister Abeywardana held that it is the first time Sri Lanka joins reclaimed land to the country. “The Urban Development Authority has proposed to announce this as a special area, identified as the Port City Colombo, as a part of the Colombo Administrative District, governed by the Colombo Divisional Secretariat,” he said.
Joining the debate, Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka held that reclaiming land and extending the city was not a new plan, but was on hold for many years. “The Colombo Metropolitan Plan was presented by Minister Indika Gunawardena in 1998, during former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga’s Government. The initial plan was to build a new city by removing the Port of Colombo to another part of the city, by building three jetties. This plan was changed in 2004 under Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as the CESMA Plan, where it was decided to build a city just below the Southern Port. It is the same plan executed in 2014 during former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Government,” he said.
According to the Minister, the project started under the Rajapaksa Government was stopped by the Government, in the absence of a proper environmental assessment and socio-economic assessment. Under the former agreement, the Minister said 20 hectares were declared as an independent zone and awarded to the Chinese company, creating the possibility to establish another independent space within Sri Lanka.
“We made changes to the plan under the current Government, based on recommendations by a committee. The first change was to remove the land given away, enabling to establish another independent city. We converted it into a 99-year lease. Then we assigned the authority of this land to the Urban Development Authority, instead of the Port Authority, which is unable to officially develop this reclaimed land. Then another issue was the burden of providing water, electricity, and the removal of waste. Instead of the Government shouldering the entire burden, we managed to split it between the Chinese company and the Government. We removed the burden on the Sri Lanka Government to look after the repairs and maintenance of the Port City for 40 years. Now this is also a shared responsibility. We also changed the clause that prevented Sri Lanka from doing any development for a period of three years. Now, our Government can do any development on this land at any time,” he explained.
According to Minister Ranawaka, the Government will establish a school, a convention hall, and a hospital of international standards on the reclaimed land through the UDA within this year. “We were faced with a $190 million penalty payment for stopping the Port City project. We were able to get it removed by removing the Formula 1 race track planned for the Port City by the Rajapaksa Government. So, we were able to establish a park of 90 hectares inside Port City.”
“Then, transport was another issue. We will be connecting the Port City with the Expressway by building a road on pillars. On the other hand, the Light Railway will also connect the Port City. A four-lane semi-tunnel will connect the Port City entrance at Chaithya Road to Colpetty,” he said, promising to also create an international financial centre as part of the project.
Describing the soft developments pertaining to Port City Colombo, Non-Cabinet Minister of Economic Reforms and Public Distribution Dr. Harsha de Silva said the Government is drafting new laws and incentives to support the proposed financial centre. “Many jurisdictions were studied and a draft is prepared by a committee. The Draft is now with the Attorney General’s Department. Now we have a penultimate draft of the law that will be conducive to attract directions to the new jurisdiction. The draft was also scrutinised by the Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. The law will be formulated to establish a special economic zone,” he said.
