Construction industry urges Govt. to expedite Megapolis

By Shiran Illanperuma

Construction industry professionals last week called for acceleration of the Megapolis project to sate their clients and drive up growth in the sector despite the Government’s insistence that the venture is already sped up.

Chamber of Construction Industry Sri Lanka (CCI) President Surath Wickramasinghe in his opening speech delivered at an event tiled ‘Seminar on Western Megapolis Project – Can it Be Accelerated’ affirmed that the CCI fully backed the Government’s flagship project but were concerned about the “snail's pace” of its progress.

“CCI is aware of the urgency to recognise that the Megapolis development is essential to the country’s economic growth. Its role as the Government’s lead project requires a sustained momentum at all levels. The confidence of the prospective investors relies on an upward momentum in policy and action. The lack of it cannot be blamed on the downslide of the global and regional economy,” said Wickramasinghe.

Chief Guest and Minister of Western Development and Megapolis Champika Ranawaka was unable to attend the event but recorded a speech that was played at the event. Ranawaka responded to CCI concerns over the pace of the Megapolis project by inviting them to play a more active role and explaining the key obstacles.

“I would rather see this as a process than as a project. The Western Megapolis consists of a series of short-term and long-term projects. Those need to be implemented over a considerable period of time. The Western Megapolis plan has 38 targets. Those need to be achieved by 2030 which is in less than 15 years from now. We cannot keep track of a fast growing economy without achieving such targets,” the Minister said.

“The area that is earmarked for the Western Megapolis already has some issues related to drainage, sewage, solid waste. Those need to be addressed tomorrow if not today. If we do not attend to them soon we will have no option but to forget the rest of the process,” he added.

Along with concerns over the lack of a visible timeline, Wickramasinghe also posed a number of questions to the authorities behind the Western Megapolis project and to Project Director Lakshman Jayasekera who was also present as a guest at the seminar.

“What is the status of the Megapolis Authority Act? Is the delay in moving the project due to the Act not being passed? If so, when will it be passed and what is the alternative? When will the revised building regulations and zoning for the Megapolis be published? This is urgent for the construction industry and our clients are eagerly waiting for this information to launch on their project,” pointed out Wickramasinghe.

“The Megapolis Authority has mentioned in their mission statement action projects such as transport, IT connectivity, digitisation, energy and water resources, urban housing, new cities, sanitation, solid waste management and several other services. What is the current position and can a few projects get clearance to commence work within a few weeks or months?” he questioned.

Project Director Jayasekera in response said: “We have done our part of the work. We have sent the cabinet papers some time ago. This is I suppose Sri Lanka and things don’t get accelerated when it is more democratic. In our country, the investment and development is more used to an autocratic system of doing things – decide today and send the bulldozers tomorrow. This Government doesn’t do that.”

Jayasekera encouraged stakeholders in the CCI to be more pragmatic, communicate with the Government on rolling out plans for development and come forward with investment proposals.

Pix by Lasantha Kumara