Cabinet approves UDA takeover of 35 acres in Colombo

• Land to build more houses for poor, 65 000 units targeted, 9,781 already in the works

Cabinet has given approval for 35 acres of land in the capital city to be taken over to provide low cost housing for 65,000 families, an official said yesterday.

The 35 acres will be vested with the Urban Development Authority (UDA), which is under the Defence Ministry headed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in what will be the biggest relocation program in the country’s history, said Cabinet Spokesman and Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella. 

“The land is located in 15 different areas of the city. Already the Government has commenced 11 projects to construct 9,781 houses for low income families,” he told reporters.

The relocation program is funded by the Government, but comprehensive estimates have not yet been released to the media. However, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa has previously told public seminars that each unit is priced at around Rs. 2.5 million.

UDA data shows that of the 700,000 estimated residents in Colombo, 43 per cent live in around 6,000 slums scattered across the city.

These colonies occupy some of the most valuable public land, which the government hopes to hand over to private companies once the relocation is complete.

Earlier this year the World Bank approved a loan of US$ 213 million dollars to upgrade infrastructure and reduce flooding in parts of the metro area in what is the first urban development funding assistance of its kind anywhere in the world.

The loan is also to be used to undertake a feasibility plan for a garbage disposal mechanism. Increasing green cover and rehabilitating lakes and canals is also part of the project.

The Government is keen to attract multinational companies, particularly for the tourism industry, which has boomed since the end of a three-decade war in 2009.

Already companies such as Shangri-la, Sheraton and Hyatt have signed on for hotel projects in Colombo with investment nearing US$ 1 billion.