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Megapolis plan presented to President, USD 30bn worth investments in pipeline

President-Maithripala-Sirisena

Dec 31, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena was presented with the new government’s Megapolis Plan formulated to develop the island’s Western Province by Minister Champika Ranawaka on Wednesday.

Minister of Megapolis and Western Development, Champika Ranawaka said Sri Lanka will be able to get about 30 billion dollars worth investments within next 10 years through this project. The plan aims to transfer informal urban development into formal urban development and boost the living standards of the people n the region.

The Megapolis Development Plan has identified issues that should be given priority in the town development and includes traffic congestion, garbage disposal and housing facilities for slum dwellers as well as drinking water and sanitary facilities, Ranawaka said. “The implementation of the development plan will be carried out under three phases and will be completed by 2030.” Speaking at this occasion, the President said everybody should contribute to make the Megapolis Development Plan, the main development project to be implemented by the government in the new year, successful. “The Megapolis Development Plan will be implemented at the beginning of 2016 and every ministry, department and government officer should fulfill their responsibilities in that regard, considering it as a prominent task,” he said. The President said this plan aims at developing every mega town to a similar level and thereby reduce the number of people who are migrating to Colombo, seeking better facilities.

Ministers Rajitha Senaratne, Susil Premajayantha, Arjuna Ranathunga and Western Province Chief Minister Isura Dewapriya also participated in the event.
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Abdul Hameed
Abdul Hameed
8 years ago

Sri Lanka needs to build largest Construction firm,There should be a stake for Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Japan,Phlipines, Indoneasisa, Malaysia. It should be similar to Impregilo of Italy. This company would take in large scale projects. Employing man power from all these countries. Bigger hadder to fail .Because construction of this scale needs a larger firm to handle projects. They also need big financial backing. Megapolis project and India Sri Lanka bridge needs massive employment. This company need future projects too in other countries. .

Mihir Thakkar
Mihir Thakkar
8 years ago
Reply to  Abdul Hameed

India and japan have agreed to.build and finance the india sri lanka bridge and funds on 4.6 billion have been arranged from ADB

Nirmalan Dhas
Nirmalan Dhas
8 years ago

According to reports, the Minister of Megapolis and Western Development has come up with a plan to develop the Western Province that will bring in investments to the value of 30 billion US $ over the next 15 years. This means that there will be on average 2 billion US $ flowing into the western province over the next 15 years.

The development of a megapolis may be planned and regulated, or it can also be allowed to happen on its own. The planned emergence of a megapolis demands the following amongst other elements: The development of a concept, the formulation of policies that will lead to the implementation of the concept, the enactment of legislation legitimizing these policies, the enacting of regulatory frameworks and compliance processes aimed at policy implementation, the definition of boundaries and zoning of land use, the assessment of impacts, the consolidation of systems and their support chains and the structuring of organizations, the provision of incentives to residents for relocation, the provision of
incentives and facilities for property owners to implement planned development, the provision of incentives to developers, the compensation of property owners for opportunity costs, social capital lost and their goodwill I complying with development plans, the setting up of processes of immigration and emigration and processes for population growth accommodation and support. This list is by no means comprehensive and requires the attention of a council of city planners.

There is a need for a “Ministry of Megapolis Development” for the simple reason that the western province is not the only province that will generate a megapolis. The northern province, the southern province, the eastern province and the central province will all
generate their own megalopilises. A megapolis development council is necessary in order to identify and ensure compliance with best practices in megapolis development and governance. The megapolis is a city or a network of cities and cities are government by their citizens through municipal councils. The role of a ministry is not the same as that of a
municipal council. Its dynamics are very different. Readers who care to do so can visit the web site of the policy group at http://www.wrmpp.gov.lk/policy.html and see for themselves that very little has been done beyond the identification of some tentative terms of reference.

The single most noticeable lacuna is the absence of any mechanism through which citizens can participate in the process of megapolis generation and this despite the publicity given to the governments having sought and received membership in the global “open government partnership”. Not even the contact page on the web page of the socio economic working group (http://www.wrmpp.gov.lk/socio.html) accepts messages despite its claim to do so. Once again the national traits of hypocricy and insincerity come on full display and it is clear to the world that the government continues to sideline its citizens.

I have made it clear to the minister that I am concerned with the management and resolution of areas of contradiction between the interests of developers and property owners in Colombo; that I see no mechanism other than the legal system through which the resolution of such contradictions can at present be resolved and that I would like to know whether any effective mechanism for the resolution of such contradictions is available or whether affected property owners have to seek redress through the legal system.

I strongly suggest the formation of a citizens council for the conceptualization of megapolis concepts and management processes, to examine the requirements of megapolis generation and management not just for the western province but for all the five provinces where megapolises will emerge. The failure to do so upto now has already begun to create contradictions and conflicts between developers, residents and property owners in Colombo and as this tendency begins to spread disaffection with the government will grow right at the heart of its electoral base. I hope the government will respond before some of the ugly developments seen under other attempts at development begin to emerge once more.

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