Seven public conveniences for Colombo city

Sandasen Marasinghe

Urban Affairs Senior Minister A. H. M. Fowzie, Environment and Renewable Energy Minister Susil Premajayantha, Defence and Urban Development Ministry Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and Colombo Mayor A. J. M. Muzammil in conversation after opening a public convenience complex in Colombo.

Seven public convenience complexes constructed within the Colombo city limits to serve the needs of the increasing number of tourists and the floating population of about 400,000 that visit the city daily, were vested in the public by Environment and Renewable Energy Minister Susil Premajayantha on Tuesday.

The seven complexes within the Colombo City limits were built on the instructions of Defence and Urban Development Ministry Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. They also include facilities to cater to disabled persons, senior citizens and children.

The second phase of the project is in progress to construct another seven public convenience complexes in Dehiwela, Mount Lavinia, Sri Jayawardenapura and Kolonnawa which come under the Colombo Metro.

The new public convenience complexes are built at 108, Vauxhall Street, Colombo 2; 98, Galle Road, Wellawatte; 43, Galle Road, Bambalapitiya; 90, Piyadasa Sirisena Mawatha, Colombo 10; 110 A, Saunders Place, Colombo 11; 125/R01, York Street, Colombo 1 and 17, Nagalagam Street in Grand Pass, Colombo 14. These complexes were setup at a cost of Rs 58 million funded by the World Bank.

They have been constructed in a way enabling the natural sunlight flowing into the entire complex and thus saving electricity. These complexes are equipped with all the modern amenities and have been tiled up to the ceiling. Ample ventilation is also provided. The York Street complex is built underground with a special mechanism to pump out sewage, air outlet and ventilation system.

All the fittings of the complexes are of high quality and special facilities have been included to assist the disabled people when using the facility. The Colombo Municipal Council is being vested with the maintenance of these new Complexes. Urban Affairs Senior Minister A H M Fowzie, Colombo Mayor A J M Muzammil, Task Team Leader of the World Bank Roshana Niti, and Metro Colombo Urban Development Project Director Rohan Seneviratne were also present.