The Urban Development and Sacred Area Development Ministry has taken steps to construct 2500 houses in the Colombo city within 2009. The aim of this program is to solve the shanty-dwelling problem in the city, the Urban Development and Sacred Area Development Ministry said.

Urban Development and Sacred Area Development Minister Dinesh Gunawardena told The Island that the Urban Development Authority, Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation, National Housing Development Authority and the Colombo Municipal Council would be responsible for the entire project and the Real Estate Exchange Ltd which had been set up to resolve the problems of shanties would supervise the construction.

Real Estate Exchange General Manager H.M.Dayananda said that 1500 houses would be allocated for shanty-dwellers and the rest 1000 houses would be reserved for middle class people. Around 350 houses would be built in Cyril.C.Perera Mawatha, 54 in Borella and 1000 houses would be built in Mattakkuliya Henamulla.

Dayananda added that the Real Estate Excahnage Ltd in coordination with a Malasiyan construction company would build the 2500 houses at a cost of 4700 million. US $ 30 million would be taken through a Malasiayan commercial bank and it had been approved by the cabinet. The Real Estate Exchange Ltd had decided to collect the rest of the money through the sales of houses constructed by the Real Estate Exchange Ltd.