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Urban development sector: Working with new vigour 

27 Nov 2021

By Uwin Lugoda Sri Lanka’s urban development sector is set to improve within the next three years, The Sunday Morning learnt. According to the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing, the country’s state development agency, the Urban Development Authority (UDA) initiated a programme to further develop and uplift the local urban planning sector within the next three years. Speaking to us, UDA Director General Prasad Ranaweera stated that this improvement to the sector was planned by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, in his capacity as the Minister of Urban Development and Housing. “The plan is to improve on the UDA’s role of developing and reappropriating the urban landscape of Sri Lanka, within 2022-2025. This plan will also garner the involvement of more development professionals,” said Ranaweera. The UDA reached an agreement with the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA), which funded both the six-lane Kelani Bridge that opened on 24 November and the wastewater management system in Kandy that was launched on 17 November. The agreement was made official with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Ministry of Urban Development and Housing Secretary Sirinimal Perera and JICA Sri Lanka Office Chief Representative Tetsun Yamada last Wednesday (24). The agreement also called for the launch of a proactive and sustainable programme on waste disposal and community sanitation. Ranaweera stated that the UDA will be assisted by JICA in formulating an advanced urban planning programme. He explained that according to the plans in the agreement, a new research centre will be constructed in lands belonging to the UDA, to oversee the urban planning sector. “One of the main objectives of this agreement is to establish the Urban Research Centre (URC), which will be housed in close proximity to the UDA Head Office. It will act as the main centre of expertise regarding the sector, and will host urban planning professionals.” He went on to state that in addition to it being the main centre, the URC will also serve as a training centre for urban planning. As such, specialist trainers will be brought in to conduct training with the aid of high-quality training equipment and other related technology, all of which will be available in the URC premises. Ranaweera stated that introducing new design tools and methods to the overall planning process of the UDA, alongside well-trained coaches, can facilitate strengthened strategic planning and approaches with urban developments, and provide well-researched advice. Moreover, he added that the UDA’s data exchange activities will be greatly improved, due to the installation of necessary software and hardware to strengthen the capacity. “The Ministry believes that with this newly formed agreement with JICA, the urban development process in Sri Lanka will be scientifically processed and accelerated over the next three years,” said Ranaweera.  


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