UDA to raise Rs10 b through debentures

Ramani Kangaraarachchi

For Sri Lanka to profit from sustainable urban development the Urban Development Authority (UDA) must think beyond the local authority frameworks and formulate and implement projects outside the statutory mandates, beyond financial and technical capacities of municipal and urban councils and pradeshiya sabha's, Architect Thilina Kiringoda said at the Annual sessions of the Institute of Environment Professionals Sri Lanka yesterday.

He was speaking on “Development of Urban areas in Sri Lanka, at Waters Edge Battaramulla.

Kiringoda said the UDA was established based on the statutory framework of the URA of Singapore, which was established for making profits from urban development but, Sri Lanka is facing challenges several times larger than those of Singapore.

However, the UDA will raise Rs10.billion through debentures to finance construction of 65,000 houses to resettle the families living in underserved settlements in Colombo and construction of Sethsiripaya Stage 11 with Rs 2.8 billion loan from capital market towards creating livable urban areas for all urban dwellers in the country,” he said.

The vision of the UDA is to be at the centre of Sri Lanka’s development by creating urban centres in which people will continue to live,work and play.

The UDA will prepare development plans and to promote regulate and implement development activities with a view to achieve the position of a financially independent and globally admired creator of fully pledged urban centres.