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Spare a thought for the masters at turning old parts to new
Panchikawatte in downtown Colombo brings to mind the rows of motor spare parts shops that have existed since cars appeared in Sri Lanka – but that will change when a shopping complex opens here in place of the old firms that are seeing their second-hand trade slowly die.
Familiar scene soon to change when a shopping complex comes up
The project will commence before 2020, and the government will relocate the old shops while building takes place, Urban Development Authority Chairman Dr. Jagath Munasinghe said.
Business in most of the spare parts shops has dropped due to the availability of cheap new parts, President of the Lanka Motor Spare Parts Dealers Association, Marlan Ranasinghe said.
He pointed to practical difficulties in moving to the new structure.
“Some people have bought buildings here outright while some of them are on rent. In such cases, how will the government plan to allocate shops to everyone in the complex? And where they will be relocated in the meantime, is still a big question,” Mr. Ranasinghe said.
Despite grand proposals by the government to promote the spare parts industry many shop owners have lost a great deal of business.
Sanath De Silva
Krishnakumar
“Twelve days of the month have already passed and I have only earned Rs.15,000 whereas years ago I used to earn in lakhs,” lamented 55-year-old Krishnakumar who has owned a shop here for 30 years, travelling to work from Kurunegala every morning.
He believes the wide range of new car models available these days makes it difficult to provide and sell reconditioned spare parts.
“We might have to close shop and find another mode of living,” he said.
Neil Mendis says 90 per cent of his business in Panchikawatte has been affected.
“Only two or three customers come to our shops and there are some days when nobody shows up,” the 49-year-old proprietor said.
“There are new vehicle parts coming from Taiwan, India and China. Today people are tempted to buy brand new spare parts that are cheaper although they have a shorter life span.”
Neil Mendis
Mohamed Fawmy
Sanath de Silva remembers seeing six of seven customers come though his doors daily but says now he is lucky to see two or three, and sometimes not even a single buyer arrives.
“These days, people are lured into buying brand-new products for a lower price unlike 10 years ago, when car owners opted for reconditioned spare parts because of their longer lifespan,” said Mr. de Silva, 62, who for the past 40 years has travelled from Kalutara every day to open his doors for business at 8.30am.
Mohamed Fawmy says three-fourths of his 38-year-old business has gone. Ten years ago, his daily revenue was at least Rs. 20,000 but now he barely earns Rs. 2,000 a day.
Panchikawatte: No longer bustling with activity. Pix by Priyantha Wickramaarachchi
Spare parts sellers sit around waiting for business