The forum comprised of top-level decision-makers and stakeholders from both private and public sectors, in an effort to share knowledge, expertise and industry best practices and shed light on future plans.
The introduction and objective setting was carried out by the moderator Zhiyu Jerry Chan, Senior Urban Economist, World Bank.
This was followed by Nayana Mawilmada, Director General of Urban Development Authority (UDA), who presented the key concepts behind sustainable urban development in Sri Lanka and the government’s plans for same.
The keynote speech was delivered by Dr. Uma Maheswaran, Managing Director (South Asia & Middle East) of Surbana Jurong Consultants (Pte) Ltd Singapore, on the planning of sustainable cities, key principles and a case study on Singapore.
Concluding remarks was presented by Mr. Lakshman Jayasekera, Project Director of Western Region Megapolis Planning Project, on the model for the Megapolis project.
Dr. Uma Maheswaran in his keynote speech commented that “all across Asia, sustainability in construction is the most pertinent problem today.
Within the last decade, sustainability as a constant has evolved, and has come to some kind of global understanding, but there are still different shades of sustainability.
However, the big question today is, do we begin projects correctly? It is imperative that the leaders in construction and its partners get it right from inception, which means setting key performance indicators succinctly and correctly for every individual involved.”
Nayana Mawilmada pointed out some common challenges of urban development in all Sri Lankan cities including handling congestion, solid waste and urban sprawl and noted that “the principles of sustainable cities have been embedded in the Government’s Megapolis plan and the project proposals are being developed with sustainability at its core.
The vision of sustainable cities are also integral to the plans being initiated for several other major cities of Sri Lanka such as Galle, Kandy, Jaffna and Trincomalee”.
He stressed that this long-term vision can be achieved through a coordinated effort across agencies and a combination of both government and private financing.
In his concluding remarks, Lakshman Jayasekera pointed out that steps are being taken to fast-track and facilitate environmental approvals via a Strategic Environmental Assessment Programme (SEA), an integrated in-house process to wade through and combine a glut of applications and corresponding approvals.
This forums will be followed by three programmes later in the year on several aspects of sustainability in the construction industry including challenges faced, social responsibility, finance & regulations and architecture & techniques.
These forums aim to provide the construction industry stakeholders with a platform to exchange, develop and share their knowledge whilst addressing key concerns.
This initiative is a result of the memorandum of understanding between Maga Engineering (Pvt) Ltd and Holcim Lanka on charting a sustainable path for the construction industry in Sri Lanka.
Holcim Lanka
Holcim (Lanka) Ltd, a member of the LafargeHolcim group is the local subsidiary to the global construction materials company, operating in more than 90 countries with 115,000 employees.
Aiming to be a respected corporate citizen, the company focuses on Economic, Social and Environmental performance along the triple bottom line of sustainable development.
Holcim (Lanka) Ltd today provides a range of cement products which fits for every type of application.
The Holcim Innovation and Application Centre, is supporting customers to develop tailor made solutions that meet customer projects.
The company currently operates island wide with an established network of distributors, united under the vision of ‘building the foundations for the future of Sri Lanka’.
Photo Caption
1.) (From left) Mr. Kishor Hameed – Manager, Sustainability & Stakeholder Engagement, Maga Engineering, Mr. Mega Kularatne – Director, Planning & Development, Maga Engineering, Ms. Charlotte Boutboul – CSR Manager, Holcim Lanka, Mr. Nayana Mawilmada – Director General, Urban Development Authority, Mr. Lakshman Jayasekera – Project Director, Western Region Megapolis Planning Project, Mr. M. G. Kularatne – Chairman & Managing Director, Maga Engineering, Mr. Philippe Richart – CEO, Holcim Lanka, Ms. Farzana Khan – Head, Sustainable Development, Communications & External Affairs, Holcim Lanka, Dr. Uma Maheswaran – Managing Director(South Asia & Middle East), Surbana Jurong Consultants (Pte) Ltd (Singapore) and Mr. Zhiyu Jerry Chan – Senior Urban Economist, World Bank.
2.) Dr. Uma Maheswaran – Managing Director(South Asia & Middle East), Surbana Jurong Consultants (Pte) Ltd (Singapore) giving his keynote speech on the planning of sustainable cities, key principles and case studies at the Decider’s Breakfast Forum.
