• Talks underway with Japanese investor 

The Urban Development Authority (UDA) said that its development programme in the Floating Market area and its surrounding areas of Bastian Mawatha and D.R. Wijewardena Mawatha, would be re-initiated this year (2026) after a lapse of several years.

Sources at the UDA who wished to remain anonymous told The Daily Morning yesterday (01) that the development programmes for the area had been temporarily halted with the pandemic and the ensuing economic crisis that followed. However, currently, a Japanese investor has expressed keen interest in reinitiating the development of the Floating Market area which suffered a great deal over the past few years as a result of the aforementioned issues. They said that negotiations were underway with the particular Japanese investor and that there were procedures which needed to be followed in order to get the said programme underway. One of the investor’s main concerns was the quality of the water in the Lake which is connected to the Beira Lake. However, purification methods would have to be followed in order to purify the water.

Fielding questions, the sources said that they were not aware of how the area is to be developed after the project fell through, as they are yet to know what action would be taken with regard to the existing shops and how they would be upgraded.

Efforts to contact the Deputy subject Minister and the UDA Chairperson proved futile.