Unused land and buildings of the Urban Development Authority (UDA) will be developed under Public-Private Partnerships.
Over 1,008 lands and buildings have been identified for development and these projects will be implemented in collaboration with local and foreign investors to help solve the country’s dollar crisis, Urban Development and Housing Minister Prasanna Ranatunga told the Sunday Observer.
The joint projects of the public and private sectors have been identified and the value of these projects is estimated to be around US$ 1950 million, he said.
Minister Ranatunga said the completion of these projects will create 12,000-15,000 direct and indirect job opportunities.
It has been planned to construct 2,700 middle-class housing units in Colombo, Kurunegala and Kandy cities.
“We will use 908 acres of land in the Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, and Hambantota districts to build small and medium scale container terminals and industrial colonies, he said.
Seven multi-story public parking areas will be constructed in Colombo, Kandy and Kurunegala.
The Minister said that it is also planned to build tourist hotels, museums and exhibition centres to attract local and foreign tourists by preserving buildings with historical value in other major cities.
He said a program will also be launched to find investors to build large-scale office complexes, hospitals, information technology industries, higher education institutions, tourist hotels, mixed development projects and amusement parks on the land and buildings of the UDA.
The Minister has instructed the authorities to implement it soon and added that foreign direct investments will be prioritised, and the procurement process completed fast to attract the investments.