Only about 16 of the 92 shops built at the Colombo Floating Market complex on Beira Lake are still in operation, officials from the Urban Development Authority (UDA) and the Ministry of Transport, Highways and Urban Development found during a site inspection on Friday (15).
The Floating Market, launched in 2014 as a flagship Beira Lake regeneration project, was built with 92 retail spaces that were leased to traders under five-year UDA-managed agreements. More than a decade later, the ministry said the complex has fallen into “significant disrepair” due to poor maintenance, with most of the wooden and metal structures deteriorating to the point of becoming a public safety concern.
The pedestrian pathway linking Bastion Mawatha and D.R. Wijewardene Mawatha — a commuter shortcut used daily by passengers walking between bus and rail services — was also found to be in an unsafe condition because of damaged railings and exposed metal. Authorities said the area had become poorly lit and increasingly vulnerable to illegal activities after the complex’s electrical systems became non-operational.
The inspection extended beyond the market to the broader 65-hectare Beira Lake area, with officials looking at environmental and public-health issues linked to the lake. Observations covered both the eastern and western sections of the lake, the deteriorating suspension bridge and the “Kaladuwa Bubble Shade” structure, the ministry said.
The Floating Market’s decline lands as the government attempts a wider tourism reset, with the industry pushing for restrictions on unregistered online accommodation listings and opposing a new Tourism Act in favour of amending existing law. It also adds to the inventory of post-2014 Beira Lake infrastructure investments now requiring rehabilitation rather than expansion.
Source: Newswire.
