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Developing urban parks: Colombo Bird Park in the making

28 Aug 2021

By Uwin Lugoda Following through on their commitment to develop a beautiful Colombo, the Government has embarked on another development project that would benefit both nature and the nation. The Colombo Bird Park Project will fall under a myriad of similar projects, developing urban parks across the country. Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Urban Development Authority (UDA) Director General Prasad Ranaweera stated that this bird sanctuary is being built to attract both local and international tourists. The project will be one of the many new tourist attractions being added to Colombo’s roster, it is learnt. “The Colombo Bird Sanctuary is being constructed in the Madiwela area, and we have already begun implementing an environmental clean-up of the area and its surrounding waterways. We did this upon the instructions of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in his capacity as the Minister of Urban Development and Housing,” he said. The park is to be built on 39 acres of marshy land in Madiwela, owned by the UDA, with the objective of turning it into a global tourist attraction. This tourism revival project is estimated to cost Rs. 1.51 billion to complete. The project falls in line with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s “Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour” national policy framework which highlighted the need to develop major tourist attractions within Colombo and its suburbs. In this regard, both the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing and the UDA have jointly planned and commenced a number of projects to attract local and foreign tourists to Colombo, including wetland parks, urban forest parks, and urban agricultural parks. Ranaweera stated that the Colombo Bird Park was the first step in this vision, and as such the UDA is well into its development. “This wetland was under great threat and destruction due to the connection of sewage systems to an unauthorised filling. We are currently rehabilitating and cleaning the canals and sewage systems surrounding the bird sanctuary, which were polluted by people,” he added. He explained that the project also has the goal of preserving the Madiwela wetlands, and conserving the surrounding environment and canals which flow directly into the Diyawanna Oya. As such, the UDA has also planned to plant 2,500 kumbuk trees, ehela trees, and mee trees in the park to further enhance the environment and attract both local and international nature lovers. “The main objective of the UDA is to make the Colombo Bird Sanctuary an important hub for attracting tourists to the city of Colombo by the year 2025,” Ranawaka said. The park will be built in an eco-friendly manner and host a park with bird shows, exotic and local bird-watching opportunities, water parks, forest parks, and restaurants. “We will be only using 2% of the wetlands for this development, while the rest of the land will be developed in an eco-friendly manner following the design plan of the park. This is because we want to preserve the nature surrounding the Madiwela wetland, which is currently being destroyed,” Ranaweera further stated. The park will be built on a design-build-finance-operate (DBFO) basis and is expected to reach completion in two years. Ranaweera explained that it should be constructed and maintained by a private sector investor in accordance with the approval and development planning guidelines of the relevant government institutions, the Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation (SLLDC) and the UDA. A private sector investor has already been selected for the project. Several parties, including Parliament, the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC), the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), the Department of National Zoological Gardens, the Road Development Authority (RDA), and the Agrarian Services Department, are also involved in the project. The cleaning of the sewage and drainage systems currently taking place is being done in line with the Covid-19 health guidelines, proposed by the Ministry of Health.


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