Hakeem assures healthy urban development

Wednesday, 18 February 2015 00:23 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Says transformation will continue but with greater transparency and professionalism and enabling environment for private sector role

SLIA President Chitra Weddikkara and Minister of Urban Development, Water Supply and Drainage, Rauff Hakeem attending the inauguration of the Annual Sessions of the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects at the BMICH SLIA Archt. Ranjan Nadesapillai, Minister of Urban Development, Water Supply and Drainage, Rauff Hakeem, Minister of Housing and Samurdhi Sajith Premadasa and SLIA President Chitra Weddikkara – Pix by Lasantha Kumara

By Inshira Shainaz The new Government yesterday assured that the urban development push which got a big boost under the previous regime would be continued but with greater transparency and private sector involvement. “Sri Lanka faces the challenge of ensuring that development is systematic, fairly distributed and sustainable but it is still struggling to implement the investments needed to effectively manage urban growth,” Urban Development, Water Supply and Drainage Minister Rauff Hakeem told the ceremonial inauguration of the Annual Sessions of the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects yesterday at the BMICH. “We understand the challenges that investors and architects who work with them face. Despite the best efforts of the officials concerned, regulatory processes can be lengthy and confusing. Many of our agencies could be much more customer responsive and constructive. Greater competition could be encouraged on many fronts. These are issues we are actively seeking to address,” said Minister Hakeem. However he acknowledged that substantial progress had been made during recent years. “The Colombo we see today is fundamentally different from the Colombo of five years ago. The transformation is palpable and many major investments in urban infrastructure development are underway. These initiatives will continue unabated, while we strive to create greater transparency and technical rigour in their execution,” the Minister added at the ceremony, which also saw the participation of Housing and Samurdhi Minister Sajith Premadasa and Tourism and Sports Minister Navin Dissanayake. Hakeem said major challenges remained in ensuring sustainable urban growth and management across the nation at all major urban centres. “Meeting this challenge is a key thrust of the new Unity Government,” he stated. “I believe our role as Government is to create an enabling environment for investors, entrepreneurs, architects and engineers – to create a vibrant environment for all our people. We realise that professional engagement is vital in this process. Therefore, we have strived to appoint highly-qualified and experienced professionals to our key institutions. We are confident that they will be able to bridge the gap between our State institutions and you, the private sector, and together lay the foundation for the change that our nation seeks,” Minister Hakeem added. To give a sense of where urban development was headed, the Minister said the Government hoped to push the UDA forward through four specific dimensions. He also shared an overview of the Regional Structure Plan of the Western Region Megapolis development plans that are underway under the new Government. See Page 13 for Minister Hakeem’s full presentation.