By Uwin Lugoda
In order to address the ever-growing parking crisis within Sri Lanka’s major cities, the Government has made plans to introduce multi-storey car parks in Colombo and other selected cities.
According to the Urban Development Authority (UDA), these new car parks have been strategically placed after identifying which areas within a city would need them the most.
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The proposed multi-storey car park to be constructed in Pettah[/caption]
As such, the construction of the latest multi-storey car park in the Gold Centre in Pettah commenced just last week, on 20 June.
These projects are being done under the instructions of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, and State Minister of Urban Development, Coast Conservation, Community Cleanliness, and Waste Disposal Dr. Nalaka Godahewa, in line with the Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour national framework.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning, UDA Director General Prasad Ranaweera stated that there is a need for these new car parks within major cities, taking into account the country’s increase in vehicles. He stated that this is not a problem that can be addressed with the widening of roads.
In a statement, the UDA also stated that roadside obstructions within major cities have an indirect impact on the country’s economy, as it disrupts the smooth flow of commerce in the area.
“We have spent a lot of money widening these main roads to facilitate congestion-free travel, but we still see people parking on the sides of the road due to no parking facilities; it doesn’t matter how many lanes we put in. Now, if you look at the main Kottawa Road, we have installed four main lanes, but only two are being used for travel while the other two have vehicles parked in them,” Ranaweera stated.
According to Ranaweera, the Gold Centre car park will be done via a public-private partnership (PPP). He explained that currently, parking is only available for a very limited number of vehicles, with the parking structures usually reaching capacity as early as between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. every day.
[caption id="attachment_145645" align="alignleft" width="350"]
State Minister Dr. Nalaka Godahewa examining the plans[/caption]
He stated that this new car park will have a capacity for 600 vehicles, with the public sector owning 300 slots and the private sector owning the other half. The car parks will be given to the private sector on a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis, where they will pay the UDA Rs. 75 million upfront, plus a monthly rent of Rs. 3 million, with an agreement to hand the building back to the UDA at the end of 30 years.
The project, which will consist of 10 floors, will have six floors for parking and the remaining four floors for commercial purposes. Ranaweera stated that the car park will share its space with the Pettah Police Station and Divisional Secretariat, which will be taking up two floors each. He also stated that the current Divisional Secretary’s Office will be given to the UDA.
He went on to state that they aim to finish the construction of this multi-storey car park in two years.
Ranaweera stated that this was not their first multi-storey car park project under this initiative, with the first two being located in Narahenpita and Pettah. However, unlike the Gold Centre car park, these were both completely funded by the UDA, with budgets of Rs. 1,100 million and Rs. 1,150 million, respectively.
“We are funding both of these car parks and each of them can respectively hold around 350 to 700 vehicles at a given time. This was before we noticed the growing interest from the private sector, which is why we decided to switch to a PPP model instead for the rest of the car parks,” he added.
Furthermore, he stated that the UDA has planned for several more car parks which will include one at Union Place, Norris Canal near the Hospital Square, and one near the Kandy Bogambara Stadium, all of which will be done via PPP utilising a BOT model.
The proposed multi-storey car park to be constructed in Pettah[/caption]
As such, the construction of the latest multi-storey car park in the Gold Centre in Pettah commenced just last week, on 20 June.
These projects are being done under the instructions of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, and State Minister of Urban Development, Coast Conservation, Community Cleanliness, and Waste Disposal Dr. Nalaka Godahewa, in line with the Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour national framework.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning, UDA Director General Prasad Ranaweera stated that there is a need for these new car parks within major cities, taking into account the country’s increase in vehicles. He stated that this is not a problem that can be addressed with the widening of roads.
In a statement, the UDA also stated that roadside obstructions within major cities have an indirect impact on the country’s economy, as it disrupts the smooth flow of commerce in the area.
“We have spent a lot of money widening these main roads to facilitate congestion-free travel, but we still see people parking on the sides of the road due to no parking facilities; it doesn’t matter how many lanes we put in. Now, if you look at the main Kottawa Road, we have installed four main lanes, but only two are being used for travel while the other two have vehicles parked in them,” Ranaweera stated.
According to Ranaweera, the Gold Centre car park will be done via a public-private partnership (PPP). He explained that currently, parking is only available for a very limited number of vehicles, with the parking structures usually reaching capacity as early as between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. every day.
[caption id="attachment_145645" align="alignleft" width="350"] State Minister Dr. Nalaka Godahewa examining the plans[/caption]
He stated that this new car park will have a capacity for 600 vehicles, with the public sector owning 300 slots and the private sector owning the other half. The car parks will be given to the private sector on a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis, where they will pay the UDA Rs. 75 million upfront, plus a monthly rent of Rs. 3 million, with an agreement to hand the building back to the UDA at the end of 30 years.
The project, which will consist of 10 floors, will have six floors for parking and the remaining four floors for commercial purposes. Ranaweera stated that the car park will share its space with the Pettah Police Station and Divisional Secretariat, which will be taking up two floors each. He also stated that the current Divisional Secretary’s Office will be given to the UDA.
He went on to state that they aim to finish the construction of this multi-storey car park in two years.
Ranaweera stated that this was not their first multi-storey car park project under this initiative, with the first two being located in Narahenpita and Pettah. However, unlike the Gold Centre car park, these were both completely funded by the UDA, with budgets of Rs. 1,100 million and Rs. 1,150 million, respectively.
“We are funding both of these car parks and each of them can respectively hold around 350 to 700 vehicles at a given time. This was before we noticed the growing interest from the private sector, which is why we decided to switch to a PPP model instead for the rest of the car parks,” he added.
Furthermore, he stated that the UDA has planned for several more car parks which will include one at Union Place, Norris Canal near the Hospital Square, and one near the Kandy Bogambara Stadium, all of which will be done via PPP utilising a BOT model.