The contract to construct 3,000 housing units for middle-income families and newly wedded couples was awarded to a group of local contractors recently.
Maga Engineering, Access Engineering, Sanken Construction Company, Nawaloka Construction Company, Tudawe Brothers, International Construction Consortium, State Engineering Corporation, George Stuart Engineering and Edward and Christie will undertake the project as a joint venture.
This will be the first installment of a 5,000-housing unit project which will be constructed in the Orugodawaththa, Bloumendhal, Malabe, Makumbura, Boralesgamuwa areas within the Colombo district, Peliyagoda in the Gampaha District and Getambe in the Kandy District.
The 3,000-housing unit project is estimated to cost Rs. 40 billion and will consist of two types of houses, including 700 sq. ft houses with two bedrooms and the 900 sq. ft house with three bedrooms.
There will be several tax concessions to the contractors, while buyers will be able to obtain loans at 6.25% interest per annum by state-owned banks over a period of 25 years, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development said.
Minister of Urban Development, Coast Conservation, Waste Disposal and Public Sanitation Dr. Nalaka Godahewa , Secretary to the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing Sirinimal Perera, Director General of Urban Development Authority (UDA) Chartered Urban Architect Prasad Ranaweera, Deputy Director General of UDA – Projects E.A.C. Priyashantha and representatives of the companies who were given the contracts participated in the event held at the UDA.
(FT)