The Pettah Floating Markets are located on Bastian Mawatha in Pettah, a neighborhood in

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, and consist of 92 trade stalls, with a number of the stalls established on boats on Beira Lake. The

floating market A floating market is a market (place), market where goods are sold from boats. Originating in times and places where water transport played an important role in daily life, most floating markets operating today mainly serve as tourist attractio ...

serves as a tourist attraction selling local produce and local handicraft. The development of the floating market and beautification works were carried out by the Urban Development Authority (UDA) at a cost of Rs. 150 million. Engineering units from the

Sri Lanka Army The Sri Lanka Army (; ) is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. The army was officially established as the Ceylon Army in 1949, though the army traces its roots back in 1881 when Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers was created; ...

in collaboration with the Urban Development Authority transformed Bastian Street, the street linking the Central Bus Stand in Pettah and the Colombo Fort railway station, into a green environment. The

Sri Lanka Navy The Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) (; ) is the navy, naval arm of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and is classed as the country's most vital defence force due to its island geography. It is responsible for the maritime defence of the Sri Lankan nation and its ...

rehabilitated the polluted canal running alongside Bastian Street. The unique simple architecture of the stalls along the canal, designed by Thushari Kariyawasam, with grey cemented floors and minimalistic décor, tries to reflect the calm and undisturbed water of lake. The markets were officially opened by the

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

Maithripala Sirisena Maithripala Yapa Sirisena (; ; born 3 September 1951) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the seventh president of Sri Lanka from 9 January 2015 to 18 November 2019. Sirisena is Sri Lanka's first president from the North Central Province, S ...

, on 25 August 2014. One of the objectives of the development was to relocate unlicensed

street vendor A hawker is a vendor of merchandise that can be easily transported; the term is roughly synonymous with costermonger or peddler. In most places where the term is used, a hawker sells inexpensive goods, handicrafts, or food items. Whether stationa ...

s off the

footpath A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as Motor vehicle, motorized vehicles, bicycles and horseback, horses. They ...

s, particularly in congested areas like the Pettah, where they had no facilities and were forcing pedestrians onto the road. Priority was given to those traders who were impacted by the redevelopment on Bastian Street. Businesses however have struggled at the floating markets due to high rents and low sales. Traders have also criticised the open nature of the stalls and boats, which restrict their ability to secure their goods overnight. The UDA has advised that it will be undertaking promotional campaigns and improving accessibility to the area in an attempt to improve visitations to the area.

References

{{coord, 6, 55, 58, N, 79, 51, 20, E, type:airport_region:LK, display=title Tourist attractions in Colombo Retail markets in Sri Lanka Buildings and structures in Colombo