Sri Lanka unveils Megapolis plan
Jan 29, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Western Region Megapolis plan was unveiled with handing over of the plan ceremoniously to the President and Prime Minister at a special function in Colombo, Friday.
Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said the project will take Sri Lanka across the world as a developing nation.
“This is the first step that we are taking towards reaching developed country status and for this we need to come out of this hap-hazard urbanization, shanties, waste disposal and traffic congestion issues,” he said.
“The country has been losing educated people because of this and we need to tackle this, take the country and the economy forward and and create jobs.”
The Minister also said that the plan has four fundamental pillars; Economic growth and prosperity, Social equity and harmony, Environmental sustainability and Individual happiness.
"The main goal is to create jobs and investments through creating a dynamic regional spatial structure that promotes economic productivity, attracts investments, enhances business opportunities and creates jobs,"
Under the plan unemployment rate will be reduced from 4 percent to 2 percent by 2020 and maintained up to 2035 by creating approximately 2.1 million new employment opportunities.
It also envisages to increase the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contribution of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) from 50 to 60 percent and to promote high economic growth based on port, airport , logistics and tourism hubs.
Goal two will see the Western Region as a resilient region which protects natural environment and creates a balanced approach to the use of land and its natural resources by safe guarding the fragile ecosystems like lagoons, wetlands.
The plan will also develop an integrated transport system to strengthen the intra- and inter-regional connectivity to optimize the functional efficiency in the proposed urban structure with integration of traffic and land use.
Flexible working hours, vehicular parking management, intersection control, traffic flow management and road pricing of entry roads to core areas are also included in this plan.
Megapolis will be completed in 15 years at a cost of 40 billion rupees.
Speaking at the event President Maithripala Sirisena said the government’s main initiative is creating a healthy and developed country for the people.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also addressing the gathering said Sri Lanka will be transformed into an economic hub.
“In the future we want the country and its people to be transformed and be economically empowered with good housing facilities.”
“Sri Lanka will be transformed into an economic hub”…comes closest to what can be perceived. The rest is mostly rubbish that indicates very clearly that the future prime ministerial hopeful has no clue as to what is involved in the generation of a “megapolis”. This may also indicate a general lack of knowledge about the role played by a government along with a deeper confusion relating to the ability to differentiate and also perceive the relationship between government and state.
There is no legislative and regulatory framework that can generate a megapolis in place at the moment and hardly any awareness of the need for this basic step to be taken. There is no mechanism that can ensure compliance with such legislation and regulation if/when it finally is brought into being as can be seen from the utter impotence of the director for enforcement of UDA regulations and permits who is absolutely ineffective. Such impotence in relation to compliance will lead to chaos not to a megapolis.
There is also corruption – which is seems partly the reason for the impotence of the director enforcement. It works like this. When a developer approaches the UDA for a permit for a twenty storied building he is issued one for two stories and told to commence construction. Once he has sunk some money into the venture he finds his work being opposed by some persons who are hand in glove with the powers that be. These persons shake down the developer and share the spoils with their patrons in power.
I do not know whether a megapolis can be generated without first dismantling the dynamics of corruption. On the other hand perhaps such dynamics are just what is required in which case the weight of the future prime ministerial hopeful will soon begin to catch up with his height. If this is so then the enactment of a legislative and regulatory framework will help increase the harvest. So why then has this still not been done?
Your guess is as good as mine. However I am aware that the average IQ of the population of this island has been found to be just 79 which is on the border of mental retardation and this may explain quite a few things.
After all the stunts, horseplay and tomfoolery; The question is “Where Is the Money?”. Although LBO mentioned the amount as 40 Billion Rupees, I have seen the amount as 40 Billion Dollars in many other sources. In current economic environment in Sri Lanka with fast looming balance of payment crisis, and already borrowing to the hilt to cover large budget deficit; no one can be blamed if they accuse this as another political jilmart.
let’s look at the facts, Sri Lanka has great difficulty to even attract 2 Billion USD as FDI per year so good luck bringing in 40 Billion just for this project. Even if we give the most conservative assessment a project like this will incur large amount of sunk and indirect costs, along with the start-up costs just to start the project so the first five years might need 15 to 20 Billion USD.
One thing you can be guaranteed is Indians are only talk no action, so Sri Lanka is left with Chinese, even after bend over backwards to get Chinese in, this amount of money will not come easily or without strings attached,now we are back to square one.
I will give all the blessings I have, and wish Sri Lanka good luck for this project, but so far I am not convinced to believe this will be a reality….
before icing the cake; we need to have a cake.
Government need to think, how discouraging is it for entrepreneurs, especially local. We give all the benefits to foreign investment to make profits. Yet local SMEs need to be empowered more.
then most importantly law enforcement, with no bias to anyone
For the future, then government have to develop people I mean humanity. Enforcement of law can’t do everything. We need a consistent mechanism to inculcate human values in our kids. Else this will become worse
lets get the central expressway and the sampur power plant done as priority, these two projects will benefit the entire country, have to be completed by the next 4 to 5 years, not 10 years
BTW from where can one get a copy of this plan…?
megapolis.gov.lk
not 40 billion rupees. megalopolis plan for a total investment of 40 billion US$
agree with all the writers below. I think we should do what AUKW suggests, Megapolis will never happen unless Chinese are doing it.