Sea Street, at the end of Main Street, in Pettah which is dominated by Tamil Jewellery merchants is to be transformed to Colombo’s Gold Centre, making it a colourful and fascinating place, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa said.
This mile-long street is full of jewellery shops at present. Under the Colombo city development plan, these jewellery shops and goldsmiths workshops are to be relocated in modern skyscraper buildings, utilizing the natural layout by making further improvements for sustainable development through the application of appropriate environmental and physical planning strategies.
Delivering the Sujata Jayawardane memorial oration organised by the Alumni Association of Colombo University at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute in Colombo, Mr. Rajapaksa noted that the new ‘Structure’ Plan also proposed zoning and building density regulations for the Colombo Metropolitan Region. The city development projects including the Gold Centre project, will see many opportunities for investors and businesses in the near future, he said.
New regulations will be introduced to ensure that future urban development conforms to environmentally and aesthetically acceptable standards, he said. While preserving several Hindu temples - the Ganeshan, the Old Kathiresan and the New Kathiresan -, all the other buildings will be relocated. With the execution of the Colombo development plan, the flooding of the city too will be addressed. Canals will be cleaned and will be used as water sport centres. Solid waste management will also be regularised and streamlined to ensure Colombo has a clean environment, he said. "The high security zone will also be included in the development plan. Buildings will be renovated. We are moving forward rapidly and will make Colombo a greener city," he added.
Mre Rajapaksa said that the Urban Development Authority will use Rs.10 billion raised from the debenture issue to execute the preliminary work of the development plan. So far no foreign funding has been received. Several foreign investors have expressed willingness to invest in hotel projects in the City of Colombo outside the Colombo Gold Centre area in Pettah. He said Pettah will be developed as a modern shopping centre for locals and foreigners where the markets are busy and bustling.
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