The Minister of Urban Development, Water Supply and Drainage, Rauff Hakeem has appointed Mr. Ranjit Fernando as the new chairman, and Mr. Nayana Mawilmada as the Director General of the Urban Development Authority (UDA).

“The new chairman and Director General, on assuming office, stated that they intend focusing sharply on the core objectives of the UD, and  intensifying the organization’s efforts in creating the basic infrastructural facilities necessary for the generation and speedy implementation of Developmental projects,” the ministry said in a statement.

Mr. Ranjit Fernando, the newly appointed chairman, has been a veteran Banker and a former Secretary of the Ministry of Industries and Constitutional Affairs. He has been a Director and the CEO of the National Development Bank, and a Director of several Public and  Private Companies.  He holds an Honors Degree in Law  from  the Colombo University, and  is also  Attorney at Law. Mr. Fernando is a fellow of the chartered Institute of Management Accountants institute of Management in London.

The newly appointed Director General, Mr. Nayana Mawilmada is an Urban Development Specialists with   extensive experience planning, facilitating, and managing large scale urban development, real estate and infrastructure projects across 15 countries. His diverse experience ranges from advising the  parliament of East Timor to leading numerous urban sector investments for the Asian  Development Bank.

Immediately, prior to joining UDA, Mr. Mawilmada was the Managing Director at York Street Partners (Pvt.) Ltd., a Boutique investment Bank and TMS Company (Pvt) Ltd., a development focused consulting firm. His academic training includes MBA from Harvard Business School, a Master of City planning  from Massachusetts institute  of Technology(MIT) and a Bachelor of Architecture from Hampton University in  the  USA. Mr. Mawailmada is an old boy of Trinity College.