The Development Plan
has been formulated to address the development issues that have emerged in the
recent past due to rapid growth of the economy. The impact of this growth has
been strongly felt in the City of Colombo and its immediate environs.
In
1985, a development plan was prepared for the city of Colombo. However, its focus
largely centered on physical development, and it paid no explicit attention to
economic, environmental or other issues that were equally important in developing
a comprehensive plan. As a result, the city of Colombo began to experience a multitude
of problems. Some of these are related to inadequate infrastructure facilities;
others to pollution, traffic congestion, urban environment, urban sprawl and inappropriate
distribution of land in the city. Also it is envisaged that 50% of the city population
are living in low income settlements consuming 11% of the city land.
As
the planning issues in the city are complex, a comprehensive planning approach
is essential, integrating all urban issues that are currently seen as well as
those that are likely to emerge in the future. Such an approach is needed to prepare
the city of Colombo to face the challenges in the next century.
The
Development Plan has been developed to address these needs and to ensure a viable
economy, supported by a more conducive and aesthetically friendly environment
and much-improved quality of life in the 21st century.
It
is felt that the existing area of the Colombo City alone is inadequate to cope
up with the functional & spatial requirements to facilitate the needs to meet
the challenges of the 21st century as a modern Capital City. Considering this
an area was demarcated by including surrounding local authorities to form as one
planning unit along with the city to function as the Core Area for Sri Lanka.
The Core Area has been approved by the Cabinet of Ministers in July 1998 as the
Capital Territory of the Country.
