Sri Lanka commences construction work of Cinecity Waterfront and Art Centre in Colombo
Sri Lanka has commenced the construction work for Cinecity Waterfront and Art Centre with the aim of giving a boost to the country’s cinema industry.
The multipurpose cinema complex situated in close proximity to the private bus stand in Pettah will include two cinema halls with the latest technology in addition to other spaces to share and promote various perspectives related to films, arts, music and literature, local media report state.
The arts centre will facilitate books or art exhibitions, film discussions, muhurath ceremonies, premieres and press shows, reports add.
Sri Lanka’s Minister of Megapolis and Western Development Champika Ranawaka has said that Pettah and the entire zone will be subject to a massive transformation in the near future.
“The Floating Market commenced operations during the previous regime but the vendors didn’t have many sales. Many of them closed down and they requested us to shift their stalls elsewhere. People in Pettah are used to the pavement business. The lake emanated a stench which was quite an obstacle for the people of this area. But we have been able to clean the main Beira Lake area close to D. R Wijewardena Mawatha and it has attracted many birds while many people also do fishing as a livelihood,” the Minister has said.
“We are also constructing a walking path. Some underprivileged families living in this area have also been shifted to permanent houses. We also hope to establish a water pumping facility at the break water near the Presidential Secretariat where garbage and faecal matter gets accumulated and ultimately flow to the sea. The Manning Market is now being shifted to a 25-acre area of land in Peliyagoda. By the beginning of next year we will be able to commence operations. Apart from that all retail businesses in the cross streets of Pettah will be shifted to Peliyagoda,” he has further said.
“Pettah used to be a busy place and nobody liked coming this way,” opined Urban Development Authority Chairman Dr. Jagath Munasinghe. “But with the introduction of the Floating Market the atmosphere has somewhat changed for the better. When we were thinking how we could improve this area, Dr. Keerthisena suggested the idea of a cinema complex. After considering the proposal, we realised that it would be an effective way to attract people. On the other hand, it will support businesses as well. We hope to complete the project within the next six months and open it to the public. It’s a short term approach towards development while other long term projects are already in the pipeline,” Ranawaka has added.
OSL take:
The development programme launched by Sri Lanka covers all key economic sectors islandwide. The project pipeline of the government of Sri Lanka has created many business/investment opportunities to foreign businesses/investors.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/09102019/Z_3 |