One-stop unit: UDA project cost doubles from Rs. 350mn to Rs. 700mn

An ongoing Urban Development Authority (UDA) project to establish a “one stop unit” for development approvals has doubled in cost from Rs. 350mn to Rs. 700mn--reportedly owing to the depreciation of the rupee, a senior official said yesterday.

The project is in three phases, the first of which has now been completed at the cost of around Rs 90mn, the official said. This included the development of computer software for an online building approvals process that links all UDA local authorities and 26 other agencies to a central database. Phase I is in the Colombo district; phase II will cover the Colombo Municipal Council and UDA district offices countrywide; and the last phase will include other local authorities in UDA-declared areas.

The software cost Rs. 40mn out of the Rs. 90mn spent on the first phase. An additional Rs. 90mn will be drawn from the UDA for the second phase while a request for Rs 500mn has been lodged with the Treasury for the final step.

The project is meant to improve on the existing online building approval system that was introduced in 2017. At present, it takes around six to 12 months to complete all the steps. The one stop unit is aimed at overcoming these constraints through an online portal.

“The new software will enable us to gather considerable data as well as generate analytical reports using the information,” the official said. “We did not have that capability.”

The cost of the project includes large quantities of hardware for all the offices that will be involved as well as staff training. These require imports.

“We also need to purchase massive storage to keep the data,” he explained. “The Rs. 500mn is sought for these components, which are costly. We started the project when the rupee was at Rs. 202 against the dollar. Now it is Rs. 365.”

The project was awarded to Prima Management Services (Pvt) Ltd (PMS) after what the official claimed was a fair and transparent tender process. Eight companies applied for the tender last year. Three were assessed as they were responsive to the terms and conditions and PMS was selected.

Among the agencies that will be linked are the Central Environment Authority, National Water Supply and Drainage Board, Ceylon Electricity Board, LECO, Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation, Department of Archaeology and Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority.

The cost of the project includes large quantities of hardware for all the offices that will be involved as well as staff training. These require imports