Orugodawatta project to house 1500 families

A housing scheme was to be constructed by the Urban Development Authority (UDA) in collaboration with an Indian Patel Skanda company at Orugodawatta.

The Rs. 4,500 million project was to provide houses to 1,500 families at Sedawatta. The housing scheme was to be established close to the Colombo – Katunayake Expressway that was nearing completion.

The foundation stone for the project was laid by Parliamentarian Duminda Silva earlier this week. UDA Chairman Nimal Perera who was also present at the occasion said the housing complex was the 18th project to provide better housing facilities to low income families in Colombo.

The Authority said the move would reduce the abuse of drugs, the excessive use of alcohol and the spread of dengue and other diseases in the area.

“We have spent much funds on housing schemes than any other development project,” Perera said. He said close to 68,812 families in the city were to be given better housing facilities and that a whopping Rs. 283- 300 million would be needed to establish these schemes.

“We have only built 13,284 of the houses,out of 68,812 that we are planning to build,” he said. Housing schemes at Angoda (at a cost of Rs. 6,091 million), Angulana (Rs. 910 million for phase one and two), Kolonnawa (Rs. 163 million) and Baseline Road (Rs. 124.9 million) were under construction at the moment, the Authority said.

The UDA also said land was being acquired for several other housing schemes in and around Colombo.

Pix by Kushan Pathiraja