The Hon. Arkam Ilyas

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chair, in this debate on the Budget Heads of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation, and Urban Development, Construction and Housing, I will focus on urban development.

¶ 02 In the inaugural Budget of the National People’s Power Government, we have allocated a substantial sum—about Rs. 98 billion—for UDA development activities. A country’s economy rests on development projects; over the years we now have funds to push this strongly.

¶ 03 Construction is a perennial sector because shelter is a basic human need. Globally the sector evolves with technology and user needs. In Sri Lanka, however, in recent years construction virtually stalled; professionals and workers lost jobs; many migrated. We have many high-rises but little benefit; large tracts of valuable land lie effectively “seized” by stalled developments; vast sums of people’s money are sunk in projects now yielding no return.

¶ 04 For example, the KRIS building in the heart of Colombo—on 3.7 acres with land value around USD 5 billion—remains largely idle, a white elephant. Construction started around 2015 and remains incomplete; it now generates more problems than investment. The Police had to obtain a court order due to temporary works becoming unsafe and risking collapse into adjacent urban areas; there was also a fire last month.

¶ 05 Many projects brought as “investments” have become liabilities—due to commissions and political whims in awarding projects, and starting without proper feasibility. Similar examples include Grand Hyatt, Destiny Mall and Residency, among others—over 20 high-rise projects (20+ floors) in Colombo alone are abandoned. Local investors’ funds are trapped; many developers relied on pre-sales to locals, and much of that money is now lost. Large foreign investors are wary when projects stall for years.

¶ 06 A UDA/Housing Ministry advisory committee reported that Rs. 6.5 billion spent on 34 government projects currently yields no benefit—these must be accounted for and solutions found.

¶ 07 We can and must do better through UDA and SLLRDC. For disaster-prone areas—like chronic floods in Dikwella, Beruwala, and Wewurukannala—problems were exacerbated by unscientific development dumping fill in sensitive coastal areas, creating flooding as close as 50–100 metres from the sea since 2017. To even get feasibility studies, we’re allocating millions: e.g., Rs. 6 million to SLLRDC just for a study; in Akurana flood issues, Rs. 22 million for feasibility. These should be expedited scientifically and apolitically, delivering real solutions. There are many such worthwhile projects to invest in.

¶ 08 Let me recall a lyric from “Wedi Nowadina Lamai” by Ruchan Bandrajeewa: “When there’s sea on all four sides, do nations eat garbage? Please give me a new country from this country.” We inherited a country burdened by mismanagement—not because of sea winds, but because things that should have been done were not done. The National People’s Power came to clear that mess and build a new, beautiful country. Thank you.