New Development Projects in Sri Lanka

The three-decades-long civil war finally ended in 2009 and then the government expedite its infrastructure projects. Expressways, Electricity and power generation, irrigation projects, economic development, harbors, airports, and cities were created. Within the last 10 years, a big transformation in development projects took place in the country. 

Starting with the southern highway from Colombo to Galle, the network of highways started to build connecting major cities in the country.

• Currently 277 Km of the expressway has been added to the road network E1- E3.
• Another network of Expressways of 106.8 Km is under construction. These expressways connect Colombo-Dambulla and Colombo-Rathnapura.

Another massive project currently under construction is Port City Colombo which is a brand new city development built as an extension of the Central Business District of Sri Lanka's vibrant commercial capital, Colombo. This is 269 hectares of reclaimed land from the sea. Port city Colombo will be South Asia's premiere residential, retail, and business destination with the highest quality commercial, entertainment, medical, education, and lifestyle opportunities. Also, include star classes and super luxury hotels. The development will compromise 5 different sections including the: Financial District, Central Park Living, Island Living, The marina, and so on. The estimated budget is USD 15 billion. Constructions are carried out by the Chinese government as part of their One Road One Belt initiative or Silk Road Economic Belt and nd part of its mission is to provide. Paralleled to this Port city project, a network of light train projects and other connecting roads are being built in Colombo. Apart from that, the government is introducing removable and sustainable energy projects such as Solar and windmills electricity projects are being carried out. 

Also, Hydroelectricity projects such as; the Moragaha Oya hydro project, Upper Magal Ganga hydro project, and Upper Hulu Ganga hydro project are extremely important for the sustainable development of any country, which utilizes hydropower as one of the major sources of energy to plan the country’s power management system.  The organic fertilizer project is another huge development, the government plan is to promote chemical-free healthy foods. The hotels and condominiums such as " One Galle Face" and "The One" will add over 2000 rooms to an existing number of hotels to cater to the tourism industry which is to be quickly resumed after the pandemic situation. Development of Colombo airport to add another passenger terminal to cater to the tourism industry (New Agreements Signed for Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) Terminal-2 Project on 12th March 2020).

 

Sri Lanka is currently in an economic crisis which continues with high inflation after the Easter Sunday Bomb attack and the pandemic. The trade balance in Sri Lanka for 2019 was $-5.14B, which is the main course of the financial crisis. New project development offers an opportunity for the government to start on reforms and work with the foreign sector together with the private sector to establish a more dynamic and energetic economy again.

References 👇

https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking_news/Gazette-notification-stipulating-regulations-pertaining-to-Port-City-to-be-issued-soon/108-247590

https://www.maga.lk/portfolio/#

https://ceb.lk/project-detail/18/en#:~:text=Broadlands%20Hydropower%20Project%20(BHPP)&text=The%20key%20objective%20of%20the,Colombo%2C%20near%20the%20town%20Kithulgala.

https://www.resusenergy.lk/operational-projects/