World Bank loan facilitates rehabilitation of 7.8 hectare beach

The project was initiated in response to the public demand to provide a clean and well organised recreation park

The ongoing rehabilitation of the Crow Island Beach Park is designed to conserve the beach and create more space for the development of the existing infrastructure in recreational and leisure activities available to the public, the World Bank said.

The 7.8 hectare strip of beach situated in the northern part of Colombo is to have an information centre, restaurants, resting pavilions, a car park, children’s play area, an adventure park, jogging and cycle track, open play area, public conveniences with open showers and washrooms, viewing deck and summer huts.

Sea

Due to the strong currents in the sea in the vicinity, safe areas would be marked out for sea bathing. The degraded mangroves at the park will also be regenerated improving the park biodiversity.

In addition the WB said that improvements will be made to the quality of lagoon water, in waste management system and the storm water drainage system.

The WB also observed that the beach park although a popular spot for both tourists and locals, is littered with garbage and generally disorganised. “Our main objective is to improve the quality of the beach for recreation, preserving its natural scenic beauty and providing essential facilities for its users,” the agency said.

The project is part of the Metro Colombo Urban Development Project (MCUDP) and is being implemented by the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) under the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development. Funded by a loan of approximately rupees 275 million obtained from the World Bank the project was initiated due to the strong demand from the public to provide a clean and well organised area for recreation.

Source :http://epaper.dailymirror.lk/epaper/viewer.aspx

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