Auto News
Formula One Track To Be Built On Planned ‘New Port City’ Colombo
A Formula One track is planned for the New Port City to be constructed
in the vicinity of the Colombo Port. According to the Chairman, Ports
Authority, Dr. Priyath Wickrama an eight lane F1 track will “definitely”
be a part of the New Port City, he said.
Formula One has strict requirements for its tracks and the Sri Lankan
track, if it is to be a reality, must be carefully planned if it is to
be implemented in the New Port City. Currently planners are formulating
ways of fitting the track in the premises of the city whilst also
allowing for maximum leeway for commercial activities. Space is also a
problem so a synergistic approach with commercial roads must also be
adopted. F1 tracks around the globe often use sections of public roads
for racing.
The New Port City will set Sri Lanka up for its own city-on-the-sea akin
to Palm Island and The World, Dubai. The city is to be constructed on
filled land taking up the area between the Southern edge of the new
Colombo South Port and the Fort Lighthouse. The total area of sea
reclaimed is set to be 450 acres.
‘The New Port City Development Project will be implemented in March
2011’ said Chairman, Ports Authority, Dr. Priyath Wickrama in an
exclusive interview with The Sunday Leader. The New Port City is a
concept of President Mahinda Rajapaksa who was apparently inspired while
out on a visit to inspect the landfill being constructed for the
Colombo South port.
‘The new city is going to be well planned. Colombo unfortunately is not
very well planned anymore. It was a quite well planned city during
colonial times but has since become haphazard,’ said Wickrama.
The initiatives for the city involves shopping complexes, hotels, office
complexes, etc. There is also a marina planned for boats and other
water based activities.
The construction is set to begin in March 2011 with an initial budget of
$450 million. The filling of the land is projected to take two years
while subsequent infrastructure construction is projected to take
another one and a half years.
‘The Ports Authority will call for investors to buy land for use and
construction as the project gets underway’ said Wickrama adding that
private sector funds will be key in ensuring that the project is
completed in time. He also said that many investors both local and
foreign have shown ‘a lot of interest’ in investing already.
‘The models have been constructed and feasibility studies have been
done. All the expertise has been provided by us and no foreign
consultants have been approached so far. The technology and knowledge
needed for filling the land is sophisticated. A monorail is planned to
reduce congestion in the city. Entrants will be encouraged to park their
cars at the entrance and use the monorail to navigate the city,’ he
said. According to Wickrama the funding will likely come from a Chinese
source as some interest has already been conveyed from there. Wickrama
also mentioned that bonds will be issued to raise funds in addition to
private investments.
‘The Ports Authority has been financially stable but could perform much
better,’ said General Manager Capt. Nihal Keppetipola, adding that a key
reason for this is the foreign exchange loss suffered in the repayment
of a yen loan taken for super infrastructure developments a decade ago.
‘The New Port City project more than anything else will be a massive
revenue earner for the Ports
Posted on Monday, January 10, 2011 @ 03:55:17 LKT
>> Back to News
