Official Name: | Malabe |
Native Name: | මාළබේ மாலபே |
Settlement Type: | Suburb |
Motto: | The Cyber suburb of Colombo |
Pushpin Map: | Sri Lanka |
Coordinates: | 6.9036°N 79.9547°W |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Name: | Sri Lanka |
Subdivision Type1: | Province |
Subdivision Type2: | District |
Subdivision Name1: | Western Province |
Subdivision Name2: | Colombo District |
Established Title: | Established |
Elevation M: | 28 |
Postal Code Type: | Postal Code |
Postal Code: | 10115 [1] |
Timezone: | SLT |
Utc Offset: | +5:30 |
Malabe (Sinhala; Sinhalese: මාළබේ, Tamil: மாலபே) is a suburb of Kaduwela in the Colombo District, Sri Lanka. It is situated on the New Kandy Road (Kaduwela Road) about 10km (10miles) away from the centre of the commercial capital Colombo. This suburb is a crucial economic centre in Colombo.
The name ‘Malabe’, is believed to be derived from the classical Sinhala name Sinhala; Sinhalese: මහ ලැහැඹ Maha Lahamba, meaning "the large forest".
Malabe is the home to the MillenniumIT (known as Millennium Information Technologies or MIT), a Sri Lankan-based information technology firm that specialises in electronic trading systems and a fully owned technology business sector of London Stock Exchange Group, SPAR.
There is a number of state and private schools in Malabe and there are several private degree-awarding institutes.
Malabe is a Sinhala majority area; there are minor communities belonging to other ethnic groups, such as Moors and Tamils. Malabe has some Buddhist religious places of the Sinhalese belonging to the Theravada school which includes the local branch of the Mahamevnawa Buddhist Monastery
New Kandy Road from Ethul Kotte to Balummahara via Malabe, Kaduwela, Weliweriya and extending to Kandy along A1 highway.