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Mahinda Rajapaksa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Honorable
Mahinda Rajapaksa
MP
Mahinda Rajapaksa.jpg
6th President of Sri Lanka
In office
19 November 2005 – 9 January 2015
Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
D. M. Jayaratne
Preceded by Chandrika Kumaratunga
Succeeded by Maithripala Sirisena
Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
In office
6 April 2004 – 19 November 2005
President Chandrika Kumaratunga
Preceded by Ranil Wickremesinghe
Succeeded by Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
Leader of the Opposition
In office
6 February 2002 – 2 April 2004
President Chandrika Kumaratunga
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe
Preceded by Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
Succeeded by Ranil Wickremesinghe
Chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party
In office
19 November 2005 – 15 January 2015
Preceded by Chandrika Kumaratunga
Succeeded by Maithripala Sirisena
Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development
In office
1997–2001
President Chandrika Kumaratunga
Minister of Finance
In office
23 November 2005 – 9 January 2015
President Himself
Preceded by Sarath Amunugama
Succeeded by Ravi Karunanayake
Minister of Labour
In office
1994–1997
President Chandrika Kumaratunga
11th Chairperson-in-office of the Commonwealth of Nations
In office
15 November 2013 – 9 January 2015
Preceded by Tony Abbott
Succeeded by Maithripala Sirisena
Member of the Sri Lanka Parliament
for Kurunegala District
Incumbent
Assumed office
17 August 2015
Member of the Sri Lanka Parliament
for Hambantota District
In office
15 February 1989 – 19 November 2005
Member of the Sri Lanka Parliament
for Beliatta
In office
27 May 1970 – 21 July 1977
Preceded by D.P. Atapattu
Succeeded by Ranjit Atapattu
Personal details
Born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa
18 November 1945 (age 71)
Weerakatiya, Southern Province, British Ceylon
(now Sri Lanka)
Nationality Sri Lankan
Political party Sri Lanka Freedom Party
Other political
affiliations United People's Freedom Alliance
(2004 – Present)
People's Alliance
(1994 – 2004)
Spouse(s) Shiranthi Rajapaksa
(née Wickremesinghe)
Children Namal
Yoshitha
Rohitha
Alma mater Richmond College
Nalanda College Colombo
Thurstan College
Sri Lanka Law College
Profession Politician, Lawyer
Website Official website
Percy Mahendra "Mahinda" Rajapaksa, MP (Sinhalese: මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ (පර්සි මහේන්ද්ර රාජපක්ෂ), pronounced [maˈhində ˈraːɟəˌpakʂə], Tamil: மகிந்த ராசபக்ச; born 18 November 1945[1]) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the sixth President of Sri Lanka from 19 November 2005 to 9 January 2015. A lawyer by profession, Rajapaksa was first elected to the Parliament of Sri Lanka in 1970, and he served as prime minister from 6 April 2004 until his victory in the 2005 presidential election. He was sworn in for his first six-year term as president on 19 November 2005. He was re-elected for a second term on 27 January 2010. He was defeated in his bid for a third term in the 2015 presidential election by Maithripala Sirisena and left office on 9 January 2015.[2]
Several months after leaving office, Rajapaksa unsuccessfully sought to become prime minister in the 2015 parliamentary election, where the United People's Freedom Alliance was defeated. He was, however, elected as Member of Parliament for Kurunegala District.[3]
Contents [hide]
1 Early life and career
2 Legislative career
2.1 Sri Lankan Parliament
2.2 Appointment as cabinet minister
2.3 Leader of the Opposition
2.4 Prime minister
3 Presidency
3.1 Sri Lankan Civil War
3.2 Infrastructure development projects
3.3 Relations with Sarath Fonseka
3.4 Controversies and criticisms
4 Post-presidency
4.1 Election defeat
4.2 Alleged coup d'état attempt
4.3 Corruption investigations
4.4 Prime Ministerial candidate
5 Return to legislature
6 Domestic policy
6.1 Ethnic relations
7 Recognition and public image
8 Family and personal life
9 See also
10 References
11 External links
Early life and career
Mahinda Rajapaksa was born in Weeraketiya in the southern rural district of Hambantota.[4] He hails from a well-known political family in Sri Lanka. His father, D. A. Rajapaksa, was a prominent politician, independence agitator, Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister of Agriculture and Land in Wijeyananda Dahanayake's government. D. M. Rajapaksa, his uncle, was a State Councillor for Hambantota in the 1930s who started wearing the earthy brown shawl to represent kurakkan (finger millet) cultivated by the people of his area, whose cause he championed throughout his life. It is from his example that Rajapaksa wears his characteristic shawl.[4]
Rajapaksa was taught at Richmond College in Galle, before moving to Nalanda College Colombo and later Thurstan College, Colombo.[4] Mahinda Rajapaksa was presented with Nalanda Keerthi Sri award in 2004 by his alma mater Nalanda College, Colombo.[5] He also had a few cameo roles as a movie actor in Sinhalese movies and worked as a library assistant at Vidyodaya University.[6]
Following the death of his father in 1967, Rajapaksa took over as the SLFP candidate for Beliatta constituency and was elected to Parliament in 1970 as the youngest Member of Parliament at just 24.[6] Later he studied law at the Sri Lanka Law College and took oaths as an attorney-at-law in November 1977.[7] Throughout his parliamentary career, except for the period from 1994–2001 when he was a minister, he continued his law practice in Tangalle.[4]
Legislative career
Sri Lankan Parliament
Losing his parliamentary seat in the landslide defeat of the SLFP in 1977,[4] he was re-elected in 1989 to Parliament to represent Hambantota District under Proportional Representation. He came into prominence as a leader, together with Manorani Saravanamuttu, of the Mothers Front, which organised the mothers of the "disappeared" in the white terror of 1988–90 instigated by a rebel group that called themselves Deshapremi Jathika Vyaparaya or 'Patriotic National Movement'.[4]
During this time he frequently attempted bring third party intervention and frequently complained about Sri Lanka in Geneva and has claimed it is neither treacherous nor unpatriotic to seek third party intervention to restore democratic ideals. He also demanded in the parliament that United Nations alongside NGOs such as amnesty international be allowed to come to Sri Lanka and investigate. He also requested foreign nations to put conditions on Sri Lanka when giving aid. On 25 October 1990 he said “If the government is going to deny human rights, we should go not only to Geneva, but to any place in the world, or to hell if necessary, and act against the government. The lamentation of this country’s innocents should be raised anywhere.” [8][9]
Appointment as cabinet minister
In 1994, following the election victory of the People's Alliance a political front led by Sri Lanka Freedom Party and headed by Chandrika Kumaratunga, Rajapaksa was appointed Minister of Labour. He held this post until 1997 when, following a cabinet reshuffle, his portfolio was changed to Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.[4]
Leader of the Opposition
When the United National Party (UNP) defeated the People's Alliance in the 2001 elections, Rajapaksa lost his position in the Government. He was however appointed as Leader of the Opposition in March 2002.[4]
Prime minister
After the Parliamentary Elections of 2004, in which the United People's Freedom Alliance gained a slim majority in Parliament. Rajapaksa was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s 13th Prime Minister on 6 April 2004.[4] While Rajapaksa was the Prime Minister, he also held the Ministry of Highways.
Presidency
Mahinda Rajapaksa was chosen by Sri Lanka Freedom Party to contest with former Prime Minister and Opposition Leader, Ranil Wickremesinghe, the leader of the United National Party in this Presidential Election held on 17 November 2005. Despite the huge election campaign led by UNP, Mahinda Rajapaksa was able to gain a narrow victory by 190,000 votes. The Opposition claimed that LTTE calling for a boycott of the polls in the North and East from Tamil voters in areas within their control lead to their defeat. Most voters in these areas were forcibly restrained from voting, and it is said that they would have favored Ranil Wickremasinghe and his UNP party in the said election.[10] Rajapaksa received 50.3% of the vote.
After becoming President of Sri Lanka, Rajapaksa reshuffled the cabinet and took the portfolios of Defence and Finance in the new cabinet, which was sworn on 23 November 2005.
Sri Lankan Civil War
Although styling himself as a man of peace and a willing negotiator, Rajapaksa signaled his intention to end the peace process once in power by forging an alliance with the Sinhalese nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and the Jathika Hela Urumaya. The JVP had opposed the original 2002 peace process as treasonous.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the World Economic Forum session in Jordan on May 15, 2009 just 3 days before the death of LTTE head Vellupillai Prabhakaran
The agreement made with Rajapaksa included provisions which called for a revision of the ceasefire agreement to give the military broader powers against the LTTE, as well as ruling out of any devolution of power to the Tamil people. Furthermore, the cessation of aid to the tsunami struck LTTE occupied areas, and the sidelining of the Norwegian facilitators due to their alleged bias were included.[11]
Immediately following his election victory, a series of mine blasts blamed on the LTTE in the country claimed the lives of many off-duty servicemen and civilians, pushing the country back to the brink of war.[12] Following the closure by the LTTE of a reservoir supplying water to 15,000 people named "Mavil Aru" in government controlled areas on 21 July 2006,[13] the Sri Lankan military launched an offensive against the LTTE, bringing the entire reservoir under government control. Further military engagements have led to the LTTE been driven out of the entire Eastern Province of Sri Lanka and loss of 95% of the territory they controlled.[14][15][16][17] The Sri Lanka government declared total victory on 18 May 2009. on 19 May 2009 President Mahinda Rajapaksa delivered a victory address to the Parliament and declared that Sri Lanka is liberated from terrorism.[18][19]
Infrastructure development projects
His presidency after ending the Civil war in 2009 is known for the initiating the large scale infrastructure projects such as the, Colombo Lotus Tower,[20]Magampura Mahinda Rajapaksa Port,[21]Colombo Harbour South Container Terminal, Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, Colombo - Katunayake Expressway, Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium.
Sri Lanka also made it into the "high" category of the Human Development Index during this time.[22] Initiating, completing and development of many Highways, Roads, Colombo beautification project, Rural infrastructure development projects are some several major projects.[23] However the roadways are known for extremely high costs and is suspected of corruption and the large amount of Chinese loans tripled the countries foreign debt and created an economic crisis.[24][25] Rajapaksa claimed that under him Sri Lanka started to experienced a rapid economic growth and the GDP growth rate reached over 7%[26] However this has been disputed and after his fall the successor government revealed that GDP growth was inflated by using the year 2002 as the base year; which is usually revised once in five years. GDP growth for 2013 and 2014 which was 7.2% and 7.4% using 2002 as base year was reduced to 3.4 and 4.5 percent respectively.[27][28]
An forsenic audit was launched with IMF help on various projects initiated by Rajapaksa.[29] The audit confirmed that Sri Lanka has an additional liabilities of 1.3 Trillion rupees [30]
Relations with Sarath Fonseka
Sri Lankan Presidential Election 2010 – Winners of Districts
Immediately following his election in 2005, Rajapaksa extended the term of the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army Sarath Fonseka, less than 30 days before he was scheduled to retire. Over the next three and a half years Fonseka and Rajapaksa's brother and Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa led the country's armed forces in their battle against the LTTE, ultimately defeating the Tigers and killing their leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.
Following the end of the conflict, a rift emerged between Rajapaksa and Fonseka, over reasons which are still disputed. On 15 November 2009, Rajapaksa ordered Fonseka to leave his post as Chief of the Defence Staff with immediate effect through a letter from his secretary.[31] Fonseka then joined opposition as the candidate against Rajapaksa in the 2010 Presidential election, at which Rajapaksa emerged victory. Fonseka was subsequently sentenced to two years in jail for various offenses by a military court martial. President Rajapaksa signed the order documents for the release of Fonseka in May 2012.
Controversies and criticisms
Nepotism & cronyism
Mahinda Rajapaksa has been accused of nepotism, appointing three brothers to run important ministries and other political positions for relatives, regardless of their merit. Rajapaksa holding the offices of he ministries of Defence finance, defence, ports and aviation, highways and road development public works. This includes his brother Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, who was given the post of Defence Secretary, without holding any elections for the post. He also controls the armed forces, the police and the Coast Guard, he is in charge of immigration and emigration. Rajapaksa appointed his brothers Basil Rajapaksa as minister of Economic Development. His oldest brother Chamal Rajapaksa is also the current Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, and has held many other posts before. Together, the brothers Rajapakse control over 70% of Sri Lanka's budget.[32][33]
Others includes his nephew, Shashindra Rajapaksa, who is the Chief minister of Uva. His cousins the Sri Lanka's ambassador to the United States, Jaliya Wickramasuriya as well as Udayanga Weeratunga, who is the ambassador to Russia. Dozens of nephews, nieces, cousins and in-laws have also been appointed as heads of banks, boards and corporations.[33]
Media freedom
Media groups have alleged that media freedom has been curtailed in Sri Lanka during Rajapaksa's term as president.[34] In 2008 Reporters Without Borders ranked Sri Lanka 165th among 173 countries in its annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index.[35] The next year, the country was ranked 162. By 2010, following the end of the war, the RSF ranking was 158th. However, these ranking have been questioned by independent Sri Lanka newspapers.
RSF’s 2010 Press Freedom Index has Sri Lanka at number 158, nearly tied with Saudi Arabia. This makes the rankings somewhat suspect. In Saudi Arabia, all newspapers are owned by the royal family or their associates. All TV and radio stations are government owned. Saudi journalists are forbidden by law to criticise the royal family or religious authorities and writers and bloggers are routinely arrested. Sri Lanka is obviously not this bad. – Indi Samarajiva, The Sunday Leader[36]
Alleged Election Fraud
Main articles: Sri Lankan presidential election, 2005 and Sri Lankan presidential election, 2010
During the 2005 presidential election opposition parties have accused Rajapaksa of bribing LTTE for avoiding People in North and East from voting. Most voters in these areas were forcibly restrained by LTTE from voting, and it is said that they would have favored opposition candidate Ranil Wickremasinghe.[37] In the 2010 election he was accused of manipulating election results using computers.[38]
Allegations of war crimes
WikiLeaks made public secret US cables (Contents of the United States diplomatic cables leak (Sri Lanka)) from 2009–10, stating that American diplomats including Patricia A. Butenis believed that Mahinda Rajapaksa was responsible for the massacres of Tamil civilians and captured LTTE fighters at the end of the war with the LTTE. The cable also states the responsibility for many of the alleged crimes rests with the country's senior civilian and military leadership, including President Rajapaksa, his brothers and General Fonseka.[39]
In April 2011, Ban Ki-moon published a report by a UN-appointed panel of experts, which concluded that as many as 40,000 people were killed in the final weeks of the war between the Tamil Tigers and government forces. A number of foreign journalists and news teams, such as the UK's Channel Four News, have reported and filmed evidence of targeted shelling of civilians, executions and atrocities.[40] Dead female Tamil fighters appeared to have been raped or sexually assaulted, abused and murdered.[41]
For their part, Rajapaksa and his government have denied all allegations of war crimes.[42] Former Sri Lankan Army chief Sarath Fonseka was later prosecuted for an interview which he gave to Frederica Jansz, editor of the Sunday Leader, in which he is stated to have said that he is aware of a rumor that surrendering LTTE fighters were executed on the orders of Defence Secretary at the time, Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Helping Hambantota case
Mahinda Rajapaksa has been accused of corruption by the opposition before his election as president, citing the "Helping Hambantota" case, where he was accused of appropriating close to USD 830,000 into a Treasury approved private fund, known as Helping Hambantota, to help the victims of the Boxing Day tsunami in Hambantota - his hometown and electoral district. Before the election, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka put a hold on the case. Later dismissing the case, Chief Justice Sarath Silva said the court case had been brought as soon as Rajapaksa was nominated as a presidential candidate. "The court sees this as an attempt to get political mileage for [UNP leader] Ranil Wickramasinghe and to discredit Mahinda Rajapaksa." It was said in parliament that the cabinet was aware of the existence of the Helping Hambantota fund.[citation needed][verification needed] His office said he had held donations in Helping Hambantota fund to speed up the rate at which aid money was being handed out to victims of the 26 December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The money in question had been put in a state account and Rajapaksa had not taken "even a cent" for his use, then Prime Minister's secretary Lalith Weeratunga told the AFP news agency at the time.[43]
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Mahinda Rajapaksa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Honorable
Mahinda Rajapaksa
MP
Mahinda Rajapaksa.jpg
6th President of Sri Lanka
In office
19 November 2005 – 9 January 2015
Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
D. M. Jayaratne
Preceded by Chandrika Kumaratunga
Succeeded by Maithripala Sirisena
Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
In office
6 April 2004 – 19 November 2005
President Chandrika Kumaratunga
Preceded by Ranil Wickremesinghe
Succeeded by Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
Leader of the Opposition
In office
6 February 2002 – 2 April 2004
President Chandrika Kumaratunga
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe
Preceded by Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
Succeeded by Ranil Wickremesinghe
Chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party
In office
19 November 2005 – 15 January 2015
Preceded by Chandrika Kumaratunga
Succeeded by Maithripala Sirisena
Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development
In office
1997–2001
President Chandrika Kumaratunga
Minister of Finance
In office
23 November 2005 – 9 January 2015
President Himself
Preceded by Sarath Amunugama
Succeeded by Ravi Karunanayake
Minister of Labour
In office
1994–1997
President Chandrika Kumaratunga
11th Chairperson-in-office of the Commonwealth of Nations
In office
15 November 2013 – 9 January 2015
Preceded by Tony Abbott
Succeeded by Maithripala Sirisena
Member of the Sri Lanka Parliament
for Kurunegala District
Incumbent
Assumed office
17 August 2015
Member of the Sri Lanka Parliament
for Hambantota District
In office
15 February 1989 – 19 November 2005
Member of the Sri Lanka Parliament
for Beliatta
In office
27 May 1970 – 21 July 1977
Preceded by D.P. Atapattu
Succeeded by Ranjit Atapattu
Personal details
Born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa
18 November 1945 (age 71)
Weerakatiya, Southern Province, British Ceylon
(now Sri Lanka)
Nationality Sri Lankan
Political party Sri Lanka Freedom Party
Other political
affiliations United People's Freedom Alliance
(2004 – Present)
People's Alliance
(1994 – 2004)
Spouse(s) Shiranthi Rajapaksa
(née Wickremesinghe)
Children Namal
Yoshitha
Rohitha
Alma mater Richmond College
Nalanda College Colombo
Thurstan College
Sri Lanka Law College
Profession Politician, Lawyer
Website Official website
Percy Mahendra "Mahinda" Rajapaksa, MP (Sinhalese: මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ (පර්සි මහේන්ද්ර රාජපක්ෂ), pronounced [maˈhində ˈraːɟəˌpakʂə], Tamil: மகிந்த ராசபக்ச; born 18 November 1945[1]) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the sixth President of Sri Lanka from 19 November 2005 to 9 January 2015. A lawyer by profession, Rajapaksa was first elected to the Parliament of Sri Lanka in 1970, and he served as prime minister from 6 April 2004 until his victory in the 2005 presidential election. He was sworn in for his first six-year term as president on 19 November 2005. He was re-elected for a second term on 27 January 2010. He was defeated in his bid for a third term in the 2015 presidential election by Maithripala Sirisena and left office on 9 January 2015.[2]
Several months after leaving office, Rajapaksa unsuccessfully sought to become prime minister in the 2015 parliamentary election, where the United People's Freedom Alliance was defeated. He was, however, elected as Member of Parliament for Kurunegala District.[3]
Contents [hide]
1 Early life and career
2 Legislative career
2.1 Sri Lankan Parliament
2.2 Appointment as cabinet minister
2.3 Leader of the Opposition
2.4 Prime minister
3 Presidency
3.1 Sri Lankan Civil War
3.2 Infrastructure development projects
3.3 Relations with Sarath Fonseka
3.4 Controversies and criticisms
4 Post-presidency
4.1 Election defeat
4.2 Alleged coup d'état attempt
4.3 Corruption investigations
4.4 Prime Ministerial candidate
5 Return to legislature
6 Domestic policy
6.1 Ethnic relations
7 Recognition and public image
8 Family and personal life
9 See also
10 References
11 External links
Early life and career
Mahinda Rajapaksa was born in Weeraketiya in the southern rural district of Hambantota.[4] He hails from a well-known political family in Sri Lanka. His father, D. A. Rajapaksa, was a prominent politician, independence agitator, Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister of Agriculture and Land in Wijeyananda Dahanayake's government. D. M. Rajapaksa, his uncle, was a State Councillor for Hambantota in the 1930s who started wearing the earthy brown shawl to represent kurakkan (finger millet) cultivated by the people of his area, whose cause he championed throughout his life. It is from his example that Rajapaksa wears his characteristic shawl.[4]
Rajapaksa was taught at Richmond College in Galle, before moving to Nalanda College Colombo and later Thurstan College, Colombo.[4] Mahinda Rajapaksa was presented with Nalanda Keerthi Sri award in 2004 by his alma mater Nalanda College, Colombo.[5] He also had a few cameo roles as a movie actor in Sinhalese movies and worked as a library assistant at Vidyodaya University.[6]
Following the death of his father in 1967, Rajapaksa took over as the SLFP candidate for Beliatta constituency and was elected to Parliament in 1970 as the youngest Member of Parliament at just 24.[6] Later he studied law at the Sri Lanka Law College and took oaths as an attorney-at-law in November 1977.[7] Throughout his parliamentary career, except for the period from 1994–2001 when he was a minister, he continued his law practice in Tangalle.[4]
Legislative career
Sri Lankan Parliament
Losing his parliamentary seat in the landslide defeat of the SLFP in 1977,[4] he was re-elected in 1989 to Parliament to represent Hambantota District under Proportional Representation. He came into prominence as a leader, together with Manorani Saravanamuttu, of the Mothers Front, which organised the mothers of the "disappeared" in the white terror of 1988–90 instigated by a rebel group that called themselves Deshapremi Jathika Vyaparaya or 'Patriotic National Movement'.[4]
During this time he frequently attempted bring third party intervention and frequently complained about Sri Lanka in Geneva and has claimed it is neither treacherous nor unpatriotic to seek third party intervention to restore democratic ideals. He also demanded in the parliament that United Nations alongside NGOs such as amnesty international be allowed to come to Sri Lanka and investigate. He also requested foreign nations to put conditions on Sri Lanka when giving aid. On 25 October 1990 he said “If the government is going to deny human rights, we should go not only to Geneva, but to any place in the world, or to hell if necessary, and act against the government. The lamentation of this country’s innocents should be raised anywhere.” [8][9]
Appointment as cabinet minister
In 1994, following the election victory of the People's Alliance a political front led by Sri Lanka Freedom Party and headed by Chandrika Kumaratunga, Rajapaksa was appointed Minister of Labour. He held this post until 1997 when, following a cabinet reshuffle, his portfolio was changed to Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.[4]
Leader of the Opposition
When the United National Party (UNP) defeated the People's Alliance in the 2001 elections, Rajapaksa lost his position in the Government. He was however appointed as Leader of the Opposition in March 2002.[4]
Prime minister
After the Parliamentary Elections of 2004, in which the United People's Freedom Alliance gained a slim majority in Parliament. Rajapaksa was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s 13th Prime Minister on 6 April 2004.[4] While Rajapaksa was the Prime Minister, he also held the Ministry of Highways.
Presidency
Mahinda Rajapaksa was chosen by Sri Lanka Freedom Party to contest with former Prime Minister and Opposition Leader, Ranil Wickremesinghe, the leader of the United National Party in this Presidential Election held on 17 November 2005. Despite the huge election campaign led by UNP, Mahinda Rajapaksa was able to gain a narrow victory by 190,000 votes. The Opposition claimed that LTTE calling for a boycott of the polls in the North and East from Tamil voters in areas within their control lead to their defeat. Most voters in these areas were forcibly restrained from voting, and it is said that they would have favored Ranil Wickremasinghe and his UNP party in the said election.[10] Rajapaksa received 50.3% of the vote.
After becoming President of Sri Lanka, Rajapaksa reshuffled the cabinet and took the portfolios of Defence and Finance in the new cabinet, which was sworn on 23 November 2005.
Sri Lankan Civil War
Although styling himself as a man of peace and a willing negotiator, Rajapaksa signaled his intention to end the peace process once in power by forging an alliance with the Sinhalese nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and the Jathika Hela Urumaya. The JVP had opposed the original 2002 peace process as treasonous.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the World Economic Forum session in Jordan on May 15, 2009 just 3 days before the death of LTTE head Vellupillai Prabhakaran
The agreement made with Rajapaksa included provisions which called for a revision of the ceasefire agreement to give the military broader powers against the LTTE, as well as ruling out of any devolution of power to the Tamil people. Furthermore, the cessation of aid to the tsunami struck LTTE occupied areas, and the sidelining of the Norwegian facilitators due to their alleged bias were included.[11]
Immediately following his election victory, a series of mine blasts blamed on the LTTE in the country claimed the lives of many off-duty servicemen and civilians, pushing the country back to the brink of war.[12] Following the closure by the LTTE of a reservoir supplying water to 15,000 people named "Mavil Aru" in government controlled areas on 21 July 2006,[13] the Sri Lankan military launched an offensive against the LTTE, bringing the entire reservoir under government control. Further military engagements have led to the LTTE been driven out of the entire Eastern Province of Sri Lanka and loss of 95% of the territory they controlled.[14][15][16][17] The Sri Lanka government declared total victory on 18 May 2009. on 19 May 2009 President Mahinda Rajapaksa delivered a victory address to the Parliament and declared that Sri Lanka is liberated from terrorism.[18][19]
Infrastructure development projects
His presidency after ending the Civil war in 2009 is known for the initiating the large scale infrastructure projects such as the, Colombo Lotus Tower,[20]Magampura Mahinda Rajapaksa Port,[21]Colombo Harbour South Container Terminal, Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, Colombo - Katunayake Expressway, Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium.
Sri Lanka also made it into the "high" category of the Human Development Index during this time.[22] Initiating, completing and development of many Highways, Roads, Colombo beautification project, Rural infrastructure development projects are some several major projects.[23] However the roadways are known for extremely high costs and is suspected of corruption and the large amount of Chinese loans tripled the countries foreign debt and created an economic crisis.[24][25] Rajapaksa claimed that under him Sri Lanka started to experienced a rapid economic growth and the GDP growth rate reached over 7%[26] However this has been disputed and after his fall the successor government revealed that GDP growth was inflated by using the year 2002 as the base year; which is usually revised once in five years. GDP growth for 2013 and 2014 which was 7.2% and 7.4% using 2002 as base year was reduced to 3.4 and 4.5 percent respectively.[27][28]
An forsenic audit was launched with IMF help on various projects initiated by Rajapaksa.[29] The audit confirmed that Sri Lanka has an additional liabilities of 1.3 Trillion rupees [30]
Relations with Sarath Fonseka
Sri Lankan Presidential Election 2010 – Winners of Districts
Immediately following his election in 2005, Rajapaksa extended the term of the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army Sarath Fonseka, less than 30 days before he was scheduled to retire. Over the next three and a half years Fonseka and Rajapaksa's brother and Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa led the country's armed forces in their battle against the LTTE, ultimately defeating the Tigers and killing their leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.
Following the end of the conflict, a rift emerged between Rajapaksa and Fonseka, over reasons which are still disputed. On 15 November 2009, Rajapaksa ordered Fonseka to leave his post as Chief of the Defence Staff with immediate effect through a letter from his secretary.[31] Fonseka then joined opposition as the candidate against Rajapaksa in the 2010 Presidential election, at which Rajapaksa emerged victory. Fonseka was subsequently sentenced to two years in jail for various offenses by a military court martial. President Rajapaksa signed the order documents for the release of Fonseka in May 2012.
Controversies and criticisms
Nepotism & cronyism
Mahinda Rajapaksa has been accused of nepotism, appointing three brothers to run important ministries and other political positions for relatives, regardless of their merit. Rajapaksa holding the offices of he ministries of Defence finance, defence, ports and aviation, highways and road development public works. This includes his brother Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, who was given the post of Defence Secretary, without holding any elections for the post. He also controls the armed forces, the police and the Coast Guard, he is in charge of immigration and emigration. Rajapaksa appointed his brothers Basil Rajapaksa as minister of Economic Development. His oldest brother Chamal Rajapaksa is also the current Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, and has held many other posts before. Together, the brothers Rajapakse control over 70% of Sri Lanka's budget.[32][33]
Others includes his nephew, Shashindra Rajapaksa, who is the Chief minister of Uva. His cousins the Sri Lanka's ambassador to the United States, Jaliya Wickramasuriya as well as Udayanga Weeratunga, who is the ambassador to Russia. Dozens of nephews, nieces, cousins and in-laws have also been appointed as heads of banks, boards and corporations.[33]
Media freedom
Media groups have alleged that media freedom has been curtailed in Sri Lanka during Rajapaksa's term as president.[34] In 2008 Reporters Without Borders ranked Sri Lanka 165th among 173 countries in its annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index.[35] The next year, the country was ranked 162. By 2010, following the end of the war, the RSF ranking was 158th. However, these ranking have been questioned by independent Sri Lanka newspapers.
RSF’s 2010 Press Freedom Index has Sri Lanka at number 158, nearly tied with Saudi Arabia. This makes the rankings somewhat suspect. In Saudi Arabia, all newspapers are owned by the royal family or their associates. All TV and radio stations are government owned. Saudi journalists are forbidden by law to criticise the royal family or religious authorities and writers and bloggers are routinely arrested. Sri Lanka is obviously not this bad. – Indi Samarajiva, The Sunday Leader[36]
Alleged Election Fraud
Main articles: Sri Lankan presidential election, 2005 and Sri Lankan presidential election, 2010
During the 2005 presidential election opposition parties have accused Rajapaksa of bribing LTTE for avoiding People in North and East from voting. Most voters in these areas were forcibly restrained by LTTE from voting, and it is said that they would have favored opposition candidate Ranil Wickremasinghe.[37] In the 2010 election he was accused of manipulating election results using computers.[38]
Allegations of war crimes
WikiLeaks made public secret US cables (Contents of the United States diplomatic cables leak (Sri Lanka)) from 2009–10, stating that American diplomats including Patricia A. Butenis believed that Mahinda Rajapaksa was responsible for the massacres of Tamil civilians and captured LTTE fighters at the end of the war with the LTTE. The cable also states the responsibility for many of the alleged crimes rests with the country's senior civilian and military leadership, including President Rajapaksa, his brothers and General Fonseka.[39]
In April 2011, Ban Ki-moon published a report by a UN-appointed panel of experts, which concluded that as many as 40,000 people were killed in the final weeks of the war between the Tamil Tigers and government forces. A number of foreign journalists and news teams, such as the UK's Channel Four News, have reported and filmed evidence of targeted shelling of civilians, executions and atrocities.[40] Dead female Tamil fighters appeared to have been raped or sexually assaulted, abused and murdered.[41]
For their part, Rajapaksa and his government have denied all allegations of war crimes.[42] Former Sri Lankan Army chief Sarath Fonseka was later prosecuted for an interview which he gave to Frederica Jansz, editor of the Sunday Leader, in which he is stated to have said that he is aware of a rumor that surrendering LTTE fighters were executed on the orders of Defence Secretary at the time, Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Helping Hambantota case
Mahinda Rajapaksa has been accused of corruption by the opposition before his election as president, citing the "Helping Hambantota" case, where he was accused of appropriating close to USD 830,000 into a Treasury approved private fund, known as Helping Hambantota, to help the victims of the Boxing Day tsunami in Hambantota - his hometown and electoral district. Before the election, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka put a hold on the case. Later dismissing the case, Chief Justice Sarath Silva said the court case had been brought as soon as Rajapaksa was nominated as a presidential candidate. "The court sees this as an attempt to get political mileage for [UNP leader] Ranil Wickramasinghe and to discredit Mahinda Rajapaksa." It was said in parliament that the cabinet was aware of the existence of the Helping Hambantota fund.[citation needed][verification needed] His office said he had held donations in Helping Hambantota fund to speed up the rate at which aid money was being handed out to victims of the 26 December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The money in question had been put in a state account and Rajapaksa had not taken "even a cent" for his use, then Prime Minister's secretary Lalith Weeratunga told the AFP news agency at the time.[43]
Sri Lanka’s CICT invests over USD10Mn in Green infrastructure at Colombo Port
Nov 24, 2017 (LBO) – Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT) said they have converted it’s diesel-operated rubber-tyred gantry cranes to electric, contributing to efforts by the Port of Colombo to go green.
Costing more than 10 million US dollars, the project has resulted in CICT deploying 40 zero-emission E-RTGs at the company-managed Colombo South container terminal, achieving a 45 percent reduction in the terminal’s over all carbon dioxide emissions to the environment and a reduction of more than 95 percent in diesel consumption.
The electrification of CICT’s rubber-tyred gantry cranes involved modification work of fitting electricity collector trolleys in the RTG cranes and constructing a Conductor bar system (Bus-Bar) in the terminal for the cranes to function with electricity.
Their environmental benefits include reducing air and noise pollution; in economic terms they reducing operating and maintenance costs and in terms of technology represent an optimisation of productivity and performance.
“This initiative demonstrates CICT’s as well as our parent company CMPort’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the Port of Colombo and the maritime industry as a whole,” said Ray Ren, chief executive of CICT.
“This is just one of several environment-relatedCICT projectsin the pipeline, and we intend to continue investing on initiatives to reduce emissions.”
The ceremonial commissioning of the electrified gantry cranes was attended by several dignitaries including the Chairman of the SLPA Dr Parakrama Dissanayake, Vice Chairman P. G. Dassanayake, Ranjan Sibera, Director Investment Appraisal at the BOI, Ananda Rajakaruna, Executive Director Imports at the BOI, Hang Tian, Chairman of CICT, and senior representatives of CICT, CMPort, Haiqin (the project consultant), and ZPMC International Group and ZPMC Lanka, the project constructor.
http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/...10mn-in-green-infrastructure-at-colombo-port/
Nov 24, 2017 (LBO) – Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT) said they have converted it’s diesel-operated rubber-tyred gantry cranes to electric, contributing to efforts by the Port of Colombo to go green.
Costing more than 10 million US dollars, the project has resulted in CICT deploying 40 zero-emission E-RTGs at the company-managed Colombo South container terminal, achieving a 45 percent reduction in the terminal’s over all carbon dioxide emissions to the environment and a reduction of more than 95 percent in diesel consumption.
The electrification of CICT’s rubber-tyred gantry cranes involved modification work of fitting electricity collector trolleys in the RTG cranes and constructing a Conductor bar system (Bus-Bar) in the terminal for the cranes to function with electricity.
Their environmental benefits include reducing air and noise pollution; in economic terms they reducing operating and maintenance costs and in terms of technology represent an optimisation of productivity and performance.
“This initiative demonstrates CICT’s as well as our parent company CMPort’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the Port of Colombo and the maritime industry as a whole,” said Ray Ren, chief executive of CICT.
“This is just one of several environment-relatedCICT projectsin the pipeline, and we intend to continue investing on initiatives to reduce emissions.”
The ceremonial commissioning of the electrified gantry cranes was attended by several dignitaries including the Chairman of the SLPA Dr Parakrama Dissanayake, Vice Chairman P. G. Dassanayake, Ranjan Sibera, Director Investment Appraisal at the BOI, Ananda Rajakaruna, Executive Director Imports at the BOI, Hang Tian, Chairman of CICT, and senior representatives of CICT, CMPort, Haiqin (the project consultant), and ZPMC International Group and ZPMC Lanka, the project constructor.
http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/...10mn-in-green-infrastructure-at-colombo-port/
ද. ආසියාවේ විශාලතම වකුගඩු රෝහලට එන මස 6 දා ජනපති අතින් මුල්ගල
වකුගඩු රෝගීන් වෙනුවෙන් ඉදිකෙරෙන දකුණු ආසියාවේ විශාලතම රෝහල වන ජාතික වෘක්කවේද විශේෂිත රෝහලට පොළොන්නරුවේදී දෙසැම්බර් මස 06 වෙනි දින ජනාධිපති මෛත්රීපාල සිරිසේන මහතා අතින් මුල්ගල් තැබීමට නියමිතය. මහජන චීන සමූහාන්ඩුවේ ආධාර මගින් ඉදිකෙරෙන මෙම රෝහල ශ්රී ලංකා මුදලින් රුපියල් කෝටි 120ක විටිනාකමින් යුක්තය. මෙම ව්යාපෘතිය මගින් වකුගඩු රෝගීන් සඳහා සියලුම නවීන පහසුකම් සහිත, නවීන තාක්ෂණික උපකරණයන්ගෙන් සමන්විත භාහිර සහ නේවාසික ප්රතිකාර වලින් යුත් රෝගී ඇදන් 200කින් සහ රුධිර කාන්දුකරණ ඇදන් 100කින් යුත් විශේෂිත වෘක්කවේද රෝහල පොලොන්නරුව දිස්ත්රික් මහ රෝහලට නුදුරින් 28 කණුව ප්රදේශයේ ඉදි කිරීමට නියමිතය.
වකුගඩු රෝගයෙන් පෙළෙන රෝගීන් සඳහා වකුගඩු බද්ධ කිරීමේ ශල්ය කරම්, රුධිර කාන්දුකරන සේවා ඇතුලු සියලුම සායනික සේවා , රසායනාගාර සේවාවන්, උපදේශන සේවා එමගින් ලබාදීමට අපෙක්ෂිතය.
මෙහිදී මහජන චීන රජය ව්යාපෘති සැලසුම් සම්බන්ධීකාරක ලෙස කටයුතු කරයි. එහි නියෝජිත ආයතන ලෙස Agency for International Economic Cooperation (aIECO) , Ministry of Commerce of Peoples Republic of China ක්රියා කරන අතර, ව්යාපෘති කළමනාකාරීත්වය සිදු කිරීම, ව්යාපෘති සැලසුම් අධ්යයන කටයුතු සිදු කිරීම Consortium of Beijing Institute Of Architectural Design Co.Ltd (BID) ආයතනය විසින් සිදු කරනු ලබයි.
මේ වන විට දෙරටෙහි විෂය විශේෂඥවරුන් අතර සාකච්ඡා සිදු කිරිමෙන් අනතුරුව ජාතික වෘක්කවේද විශේෂිත රෝහලෙහි නිර්මාණ සැලසුම් සකසා අවසන් කොට ඇත.
ජාතික වෘක්කවේද විශේෂිත රෝහලෙහි නිර්මාණ සැලසුම වන්නේ මූලික ප්රතිකාර ඒකකය, ඇඳන් 200කින් යුත් නේවාසික රෝගී ප්රතිකාර ඒකකය වෛද්ය වාට්ටු 02කින් යුතු ඇඳන් 120ක පිරිමි නේවාසික ප්රතිකාර ඒකකය, වෛද්ය වාට්ටුවකින්, ළමා වාට්ටුවකින් හා ශල්ය වාට්ටුවකින් සමන්විත ඇඳන් 80ක කාන්තා ශා ළමා නේවාසික ප්රථාකාර ඒකකය, නවීන තාක්ෂණික පහසුකම් වලින් යුත් ඇඳන් 10 බැගින් යතු වෛද්ය හා ශල්ය දැඩිසත්කාර ඒකක දෙකකි, රුධිර කාන්දුකරණ ඇඳන් 100ක් සහ උදරච්ඡද කාන්දුකරන ඇඳන් 15ක්, ඩිජිටල් එක්සේ මැෂින්, සීටි ස්කෑන් මැෂින්, ඊ.සී.ජී ඒකකයක්, යූඑස් ස්කෑන්, රසායනික ව්යාධවේදී හා පඨක ව්යාධවේදී අංශය, රුධිර බැංකුව, උපදේශන සේවා හා අධ්යාපනික වැඩසටහන් දියත් කිරීම සඳහා පුද්ගලයින් 200කට ආසන පහසුකම් සහිත නවීන ශ්රව්ය දෘෂ්ය තාක්ෂණික උපකරණයන්ගෙන් යුත් ශ්රවණාගාරය, විශේෂඥ හා වෛද්ය නිලධාරීන් හෙද නිලධාරීන් හා අනෙකුත් කාර්ය මණ්ඩල සඳහා අවශ්ය නේවාසිකාගාර පහසුකම්ද මේ ව්යාපෘතිය මගින් ලබාදී ඇත.
රක්ෂණ ශ්රියන්ත සහ පොලොන්නරුව දිසා
- http://www.dinamina.lk/2017/11/27/ප...තම-වකුගඩු-රෝහලට-එන-මස-6-දා-ජනපති-අතින්-මුල්ගල
වකුගඩු රෝගීන් වෙනුවෙන් ඉදිකෙරෙන දකුණු ආසියාවේ විශාලතම රෝහල වන ජාතික වෘක්කවේද විශේෂිත රෝහලට පොළොන්නරුවේදී දෙසැම්බර් මස 06 වෙනි දින ජනාධිපති මෛත්රීපාල සිරිසේන මහතා අතින් මුල්ගල් තැබීමට නියමිතය. මහජන චීන සමූහාන්ඩුවේ ආධාර මගින් ඉදිකෙරෙන මෙම රෝහල ශ්රී ලංකා මුදලින් රුපියල් කෝටි 120ක විටිනාකමින් යුක්තය. මෙම ව්යාපෘතිය මගින් වකුගඩු රෝගීන් සඳහා සියලුම නවීන පහසුකම් සහිත, නවීන තාක්ෂණික උපකරණයන්ගෙන් සමන්විත භාහිර සහ නේවාසික ප්රතිකාර වලින් යුත් රෝගී ඇදන් 200කින් සහ රුධිර කාන්දුකරණ ඇදන් 100කින් යුත් විශේෂිත වෘක්කවේද රෝහල පොලොන්නරුව දිස්ත්රික් මහ රෝහලට නුදුරින් 28 කණුව ප්රදේශයේ ඉදි කිරීමට නියමිතය.
වකුගඩු රෝගයෙන් පෙළෙන රෝගීන් සඳහා වකුගඩු බද්ධ කිරීමේ ශල්ය කරම්, රුධිර කාන්දුකරන සේවා ඇතුලු සියලුම සායනික සේවා , රසායනාගාර සේවාවන්, උපදේශන සේවා එමගින් ලබාදීමට අපෙක්ෂිතය.
මෙහිදී මහජන චීන රජය ව්යාපෘති සැලසුම් සම්බන්ධීකාරක ලෙස කටයුතු කරයි. එහි නියෝජිත ආයතන ලෙස Agency for International Economic Cooperation (aIECO) , Ministry of Commerce of Peoples Republic of China ක්රියා කරන අතර, ව්යාපෘති කළමනාකාරීත්වය සිදු කිරීම, ව්යාපෘති සැලසුම් අධ්යයන කටයුතු සිදු කිරීම Consortium of Beijing Institute Of Architectural Design Co.Ltd (BID) ආයතනය විසින් සිදු කරනු ලබයි.
මේ වන විට දෙරටෙහි විෂය විශේෂඥවරුන් අතර සාකච්ඡා සිදු කිරිමෙන් අනතුරුව ජාතික වෘක්කවේද විශේෂිත රෝහලෙහි නිර්මාණ සැලසුම් සකසා අවසන් කොට ඇත.
ජාතික වෘක්කවේද විශේෂිත රෝහලෙහි නිර්මාණ සැලසුම වන්නේ මූලික ප්රතිකාර ඒකකය, ඇඳන් 200කින් යුත් නේවාසික රෝගී ප්රතිකාර ඒකකය වෛද්ය වාට්ටු 02කින් යුතු ඇඳන් 120ක පිරිමි නේවාසික ප්රතිකාර ඒකකය, වෛද්ය වාට්ටුවකින්, ළමා වාට්ටුවකින් හා ශල්ය වාට්ටුවකින් සමන්විත ඇඳන් 80ක කාන්තා ශා ළමා නේවාසික ප්රථාකාර ඒකකය, නවීන තාක්ෂණික පහසුකම් වලින් යුත් ඇඳන් 10 බැගින් යතු වෛද්ය හා ශල්ය දැඩිසත්කාර ඒකක දෙකකි, රුධිර කාන්දුකරණ ඇඳන් 100ක් සහ උදරච්ඡද කාන්දුකරන ඇඳන් 15ක්, ඩිජිටල් එක්සේ මැෂින්, සීටි ස්කෑන් මැෂින්, ඊ.සී.ජී ඒකකයක්, යූඑස් ස්කෑන්, රසායනික ව්යාධවේදී හා පඨක ව්යාධවේදී අංශය, රුධිර බැංකුව, උපදේශන සේවා හා අධ්යාපනික වැඩසටහන් දියත් කිරීම සඳහා පුද්ගලයින් 200කට ආසන පහසුකම් සහිත නවීන ශ්රව්ය දෘෂ්ය තාක්ෂණික උපකරණයන්ගෙන් යුත් ශ්රවණාගාරය, විශේෂඥ හා වෛද්ය නිලධාරීන් හෙද නිලධාරීන් හා අනෙකුත් කාර්ය මණ්ඩල සඳහා අවශ්ය නේවාසිකාගාර පහසුකම්ද මේ ව්යාපෘතිය මගින් ලබාදී ඇත.
රක්ෂණ ශ්රියන්ත සහ පොලොන්නරුව දිසා
- http://www.dinamina.lk/2017/11/27/ප...තම-වකුගඩු-රෝහලට-එන-මස-6-දා-ජනපති-අතින්-මුල්ගල
Major water project for north, NWP, ncp
Benefits over 770,000 people
Monday, November 27, 2017 - 01:00
Nimal Wijesinghe
Anuradhapura Additional District Group Corr.
The first phase of a huge water management project was launched for farmers in the dry zone recently.
Anuradhapura Government Agent R.M. Wanninayake told the Daily News that it would provide water for farmers in the North Central, North and North Western Provinces. The project will benefit around 770,000 people in the Malwathuoya, Meeoya and Yanoya river basins. It will enhance water supply systems, boost environment friendly agriculture, establish community base rural water schemes, and decentralise drinking water projects.
The project also strengthens warning systems of flood and drought and other natural disasters. Assuring food security and alleviating poverty in the areas will be other targets of the project.
The Green Climate Fund Grants and 38.1 million American dollars were provided for the project. The Government is to invest US$ 14 million and the project will be complete by 2025. The UN Development Program (UNDP) along with the Disaster Management Ministry, Agrarian Services Development and Agriculture Departments, National Water Supply and Drainage Board and National Community Water Supply Department will assist the project. Wanninayake said. Rs. 3,113 million will be invest to improve agriculture in the river basin areas, while rehabilitating 325 rural tanks, 30 cascade systems. Thirty five community based water schemes will be established with 125 high-tech water filtering machines and 4,000 rain water harvesting tank systems at a cost of Rs. 1465 million, he said.
UNDP Project Coordinator Asoka Ajantha said women headed families, jobless young women, disabled persons, kidney patients, destitute families due to conflicts and flood, children and mothers suffering from malnutrition and underage children will be given priority thorough the development projects.
- http://www.dailynews.lk/2017/11/27/local/135653/major-water-project-north-nwp-ncp
Climate Resilient Integrated Water Management Project
- http://www.lk.undp.org/content/sril...ient-Integrated-Water-Management-Project.html
Benefits over 770,000 people
Monday, November 27, 2017 - 01:00
Nimal Wijesinghe
Anuradhapura Additional District Group Corr.
The first phase of a huge water management project was launched for farmers in the dry zone recently.
Anuradhapura Government Agent R.M. Wanninayake told the Daily News that it would provide water for farmers in the North Central, North and North Western Provinces. The project will benefit around 770,000 people in the Malwathuoya, Meeoya and Yanoya river basins. It will enhance water supply systems, boost environment friendly agriculture, establish community base rural water schemes, and decentralise drinking water projects.
The project also strengthens warning systems of flood and drought and other natural disasters. Assuring food security and alleviating poverty in the areas will be other targets of the project.
The Green Climate Fund Grants and 38.1 million American dollars were provided for the project. The Government is to invest US$ 14 million and the project will be complete by 2025. The UN Development Program (UNDP) along with the Disaster Management Ministry, Agrarian Services Development and Agriculture Departments, National Water Supply and Drainage Board and National Community Water Supply Department will assist the project. Wanninayake said. Rs. 3,113 million will be invest to improve agriculture in the river basin areas, while rehabilitating 325 rural tanks, 30 cascade systems. Thirty five community based water schemes will be established with 125 high-tech water filtering machines and 4,000 rain water harvesting tank systems at a cost of Rs. 1465 million, he said.
UNDP Project Coordinator Asoka Ajantha said women headed families, jobless young women, disabled persons, kidney patients, destitute families due to conflicts and flood, children and mothers suffering from malnutrition and underage children will be given priority thorough the development projects.
- http://www.dailynews.lk/2017/11/27/local/135653/major-water-project-north-nwp-ncp
Climate Resilient Integrated Water Management Project
- http://www.lk.undp.org/content/sril...ient-Integrated-Water-Management-Project.html
Rs. 7 b middle income housing project in Borella
Monday, 27 November 2017 00:20
By Chathuri Dissanayake
The second housing project in Colombo targeting middle class professionals with an investment of over Rs. 7 billion is set to kick off in December.
Cabinet has already granted approval to award the construction job for the project costing Rs. 7.799 billion to Yanjian Group Company Ltd, which earlier constructed the Nelum Pokuna theatre.
Only two bidders, Yanjian Group Company and Maga Construction, qualified through the technical evaluation, a top official of the Urban Development Authority told Daily FT.
“The project is a design and build job. So 25% of the points were awarded for the design and 75% were awarded to the financial proposal. In the Yanjian proposal, they had offered a 100% financing solution where the Government has to pay the total only at the end of the project. We don’t need to pay anything before that. So they got higher marks as they had 100% in the financial proposal,” said UDA Director General Sumeda Ratnayake.
The housing complex located at Elliot Place has 400 units in a 30-storeyed structure with the ground floor dedicated to commercial purposes, and is scheduled for completion in 2020. The facility has three different housing units - Type 1 with a floor area of 850 m2 includes two bedrooms and a bathroom, Type 2 with floor area of 1,050 m2 has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, while Type 3 has three bedrooms, two bathrooms and an additional service room.
The first housing project initiated by Megapolis with 600 units targeting young professionals is now 40% complete. All units in the facility are already sold out, Ratnayake said. UDA has received over 1,500 applications from professionals in both the private sector and Government sector to buy one of the 600 units. The majority of the units have been bought by members of the medical profession it was learnt.
“We are selling at a lower cost than the market rates at the moment. A unit with three bedrooms was sold at Rs. 12.1 million while a unit with two bedrooms was given at Rs. 8.5 million. This is a lot lower than the apartment prices in the market right now,” he said.
The pricing for the new facility is likely to be higher due to the prime location and additional facilities included in the building.
Similarly, units in the new facility will also be priced low. Applications to buy a unit will be called by way of public advertisement three months after commencing construction work, he said.
“We will be asking the applicants to furnish the details of their occupation and salary slips to verify their professions,” Ratnayake said while explaining the selection process.
“We are doing the screening process to ensure that no middlemen buy the units for resale later,” he explained.
- http://www.ft.lk/front-page/Rs--7-b-middle-income-housing-project-in-Borella/44-644131
Monday, 27 November 2017 00:20
- Chinese Company Yanjian wins design and tender for project offering 100% financing option
- Facility comprises 400 units under three categories in 30-storeyed structure
- UDA to call for applications to buy units within three months of project’s commencement
By Chathuri Dissanayake
The second housing project in Colombo targeting middle class professionals with an investment of over Rs. 7 billion is set to kick off in December.
Cabinet has already granted approval to award the construction job for the project costing Rs. 7.799 billion to Yanjian Group Company Ltd, which earlier constructed the Nelum Pokuna theatre.
Only two bidders, Yanjian Group Company and Maga Construction, qualified through the technical evaluation, a top official of the Urban Development Authority told Daily FT.
“The project is a design and build job. So 25% of the points were awarded for the design and 75% were awarded to the financial proposal. In the Yanjian proposal, they had offered a 100% financing solution where the Government has to pay the total only at the end of the project. We don’t need to pay anything before that. So they got higher marks as they had 100% in the financial proposal,” said UDA Director General Sumeda Ratnayake.
The housing complex located at Elliot Place has 400 units in a 30-storeyed structure with the ground floor dedicated to commercial purposes, and is scheduled for completion in 2020. The facility has three different housing units - Type 1 with a floor area of 850 m2 includes two bedrooms and a bathroom, Type 2 with floor area of 1,050 m2 has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, while Type 3 has three bedrooms, two bathrooms and an additional service room.
The first housing project initiated by Megapolis with 600 units targeting young professionals is now 40% complete. All units in the facility are already sold out, Ratnayake said. UDA has received over 1,500 applications from professionals in both the private sector and Government sector to buy one of the 600 units. The majority of the units have been bought by members of the medical profession it was learnt.
“We are selling at a lower cost than the market rates at the moment. A unit with three bedrooms was sold at Rs. 12.1 million while a unit with two bedrooms was given at Rs. 8.5 million. This is a lot lower than the apartment prices in the market right now,” he said.
The pricing for the new facility is likely to be higher due to the prime location and additional facilities included in the building.
Similarly, units in the new facility will also be priced low. Applications to buy a unit will be called by way of public advertisement three months after commencing construction work, he said.
“We will be asking the applicants to furnish the details of their occupation and salary slips to verify their professions,” Ratnayake said while explaining the selection process.
“We are doing the screening process to ensure that no middlemen buy the units for resale later,” he explained.
- http://www.ft.lk/front-page/Rs--7-b-middle-income-housing-project-in-Borella/44-644131
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බේරේ - රන්මසු පුර බවට පත්වේ.
මහනගර හා බස්නාහිර සංවර්ධන අමාත්යංශයේ මග පෙන්වීමෙන්,නාගරික සංවර්ධන අධිකාරිය මගින් ක්රියාත්මක බෙරේ වැව සංවර්ධන සැලසුම අද දින (27) මහනගර අමාත්ය පාඨලී චම්පික රණවක මැතිතුමාගේ ප්රධානත්වයෙන් පැවැත්විණි.එම සැලසුම රන්මසු පුර නමින් එළි දැක්වුණු අතර ඉදිරියේදී බෙරේ නම වෙනුවට රන්මසුපුර නමින් භාවිතා වනු ඇත.
සිංගප්පූරු කෝපරේෂන් එන්ටර්ප්රයිසස්, තෙමාසසෙක් පදනම සහ ලයිව්බල් සිටීස් යන ආයතනයන් හි උපදේශකත්වයෙන් නාගරික සංවර්ධන අධිකාරියේ නිලධාරීන්ගේ ද දායකත්වය ඇතිව සැකසුණු රන්මසු පුර සංවර්ධන සැලැස්ම, සැලසුම් 5 ක් යටතේ කි්රයාත්මක කෙරේ.එනම්, බේරේ වැව වටා ඇති සියළුම ඉඩම් ඉහළ ඵලදායිතාවකට දියුණු කිරීම, බේරේ වැව අපවිත්රවන ආකාරයේ සියළු භාවිතයන් පාලනය කිරීම, ස්වභාවික පරිසරය ආරක්ෂා කර ගනිමින් යෝජිත සංවර්ධනය සැලසුම් කිරීම, දේශීය හා විදේශීය ජනතාවට බේරේ වැව වෙත ලඟාවීමට හැකිවන පරිදි වැව රක්ෂිතය විවෘත කර සංවර්ධනය කිරීම හා විනේද කටයුතු සඳහා අවශ්ය පහසුකම් දියුණු කිරීම, දේශීය ජනතාව සඳහා තම ආදායම් මාර්ග වැඩිදියුණු කිරීමේ අවස්ථා වැඩිකිරීම හා ආර්ථික දියුණුව ඇති කිරීම සිදු කෙරේ. ඒ අනුව රන්මසු පුර ව්යාපෘතිය යටතේ හඳුනාගත් ප්රදේශයට විශේෂ කලාපීකරණ රෙගුලාසි සකස් කර ඇත.
- https://www.facebook.com/pg/uda.gov.lk/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1751741304869896
Govt. to release 50 acres of capital land for investments
Tuesday, 28 November 2017 01:16
Reuters: Sri Lanka will release nearly 50 acres of state-owned land in the near future for investments in Colombo’s commercial area, a minister said on Monday, as the island nation targets a record $ 2.5 billion in total foreign direct investments next year. Land scarcity and strict land ownership rules for foreign investors have discouraged offshore investors so far.
President Maithripala Sirisena’s Coalition Government has been gradually clearing some state lands dwelled by illegal squatters, mainly around the historic Beira Lake.
“We can easily release up to 50 acres in the near future,” Megapolis and Western Development Minister Champika Ranawaka told Reuters.
“We will call for request for proposal first for the Government-owned land in the next year. All the shanties will be cleared by end of this year.”
A Government official, who has the knowledge on the proposed land sale, said the plan is to go for 99-year lease with an investment of at least Rs. 1.92 billion ($ 12.5 million) per acre.
The Government will target investments in tourism, leisure parks and mixed development projects in the area.
Beira Lake is now surrounded by Sri Lanka’s tallest Chinese-built Lotus Tower and some popular hotel chains including Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Asia and some owned by local conglomerate John Keells Holdings.
The head of the Government’s Board of Investment said last week the country aims to attract $ 2.5 billion in FDI next year from this year’s target of $ 1.5 billion.
- http://www.ft.lk/front-page/Govt--to-release-50-acres-of-capital-land-for-investments/44-644226
Beira Lake Intervention Area Development Plan launched
Tuesday, 28 November 2017 00:03
By Shannon Jayawardena
Under the initiative of the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development and the Urban Development Authority, the Beira Lake Intervention Area Development Plan was inaugurated in Colombo yesterday.
The ministry aims to restore the lake and turn it into the most scenic asset of Colombo by 2035.
Having had a highly urbanised catchment of 448 hectares, the lake was used for a wide variety of purposes during the colonial era of the Portuguese and English and was used as a port for transporting goods within the city plus suburban cities for it is connected to many intricate canals. Even today the Beira Lake is a centre for residential, industrial, commercial, tourism and religious activities. However, at present pollution has led to the eutrophication of the lake.
The Chief Guest at the launch, Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka, said: “The development plan that we launched today, which we have termed the Beira Lake Intervention Area Development Plan, certainly represents a vital element in the master plan to develop the central business district of the Megapolis. This area had very much been a theatre of intense political and economic activity for many centuries and hence had very great significance.”
“On one hand a good part of the water body was reclaimed to accommodate the military, commercial and administrative facilities of this establishment. On the other, the banks of the northern Beira were turned into docks and the waters became anchoring yards for ships that carried goods into the island. The area was effectively made the logistic hub of the city. Nonetheless, during the subsequent phase of the expansion of the Port of Colombo the lake got relegated to a backyard facility,” he added.
The development plan hopes to clear away all nearby slum dwellings and control the chaos which prevails around the area and create a picturesque place for both locals and tourists. For this purpose, the project has been divided into five categories implemented under the guidance of the Centre for Liveable Cities Singapore.
The five categories are to fruitfully improve all land around the lake, control pollution around the lake, incorporate the safety of nature during the process of development, safeguard the lake and bring in suitable events for both local and foreign tourists to enjoy and focus on the livelihood of the people.
While 27 hectares of the Beira belong to the Sri Lanka Railway Department, 26 hectares belong to the warehouses. The majority of this area belongs to the Port Authority and a total of 20 hectares will be parted as open space. The open space will be assigned to shops, cafeterias, cinema halls, cycle paths and rented homes.
In 2016 the Beira Development Project was granted Rs. 1.35 billion by the Government out of which 384 houses were constructed under the Urban Renewal Program. The plan recommends creating a garden setting around the lake and a green promenade will be continued around it to grant the public easy access to the lake.
All the access roads will be developed with tree lines with a more spacious area for walking and cycling. The development of a multimodal transport hub is also being initiated at the fort area, creating a host of economic and social benefits. The development of a diverse, balanced and integrated transit system which provides satisfactory service coverage for people and freight transport is what the ministry is aiming to achieve.
“Our vision is to celebrate both the natural beauty and rich history of the Beira Lake and its surrounding areas. The area is therefore envisioned to be the crown jewel of Colombo and a major destination for locals, visitors and investors,” stated Urban Development Authority Planning Deputy Director Priyani Nawarathna.
The National Housing Development Authority at the helm of the Beira’s housing plan stressed that the housing area will be divided into residential, commercial and public zones, where the public zone will be primarily tourist-based. The project will therefore not only capture the interest of locals but also attract countless tourists.
“When I first came to Sri Lanka together with my Executive Director, we immediately saw the wonderful potential of the Beira Lake. You’ve come very far but we can do more and I can see the passion. We hope to continue to work with you and to share more ideas,” said Centre for Liveable Cities Fellow Michael Koh.
-Pix by Shehan Gunasekara
- http://www.ft.lk/news/Beira-Lake-Intervention-Area-Development-Plan-launched/56-644223
මහනගර හා බස්නාහිර සංවර්ධන අමාත්යංශයේ මග පෙන්වීමෙන්,නාගරික සංවර්ධන අධිකාරිය මගින් ක්රියාත්මක බෙරේ වැව සංවර්ධන සැලසුම අද දින (27) මහනගර අමාත්ය පාඨලී චම්පික රණවක මැතිතුමාගේ ප්රධානත්වයෙන් පැවැත්විණි.එම සැලසුම රන්මසු පුර නමින් එළි දැක්වුණු අතර ඉදිරියේදී බෙරේ නම වෙනුවට රන්මසුපුර නමින් භාවිතා වනු ඇත.
සිංගප්පූරු කෝපරේෂන් එන්ටර්ප්රයිසස්, තෙමාසසෙක් පදනම සහ ලයිව්බල් සිටීස් යන ආයතනයන් හි උපදේශකත්වයෙන් නාගරික සංවර්ධන අධිකාරියේ නිලධාරීන්ගේ ද දායකත්වය ඇතිව සැකසුණු රන්මසු පුර සංවර්ධන සැලැස්ම, සැලසුම් 5 ක් යටතේ කි්රයාත්මක කෙරේ.එනම්, බේරේ වැව වටා ඇති සියළුම ඉඩම් ඉහළ ඵලදායිතාවකට දියුණු කිරීම, බේරේ වැව අපවිත්රවන ආකාරයේ සියළු භාවිතයන් පාලනය කිරීම, ස්වභාවික පරිසරය ආරක්ෂා කර ගනිමින් යෝජිත සංවර්ධනය සැලසුම් කිරීම, දේශීය හා විදේශීය ජනතාවට බේරේ වැව වෙත ලඟාවීමට හැකිවන පරිදි වැව රක්ෂිතය විවෘත කර සංවර්ධනය කිරීම හා විනේද කටයුතු සඳහා අවශ්ය පහසුකම් දියුණු කිරීම, දේශීය ජනතාව සඳහා තම ආදායම් මාර්ග වැඩිදියුණු කිරීමේ අවස්ථා වැඩිකිරීම හා ආර්ථික දියුණුව ඇති කිරීම සිදු කෙරේ. ඒ අනුව රන්මසු පුර ව්යාපෘතිය යටතේ හඳුනාගත් ප්රදේශයට විශේෂ කලාපීකරණ රෙගුලාසි සකස් කර ඇත.
- https://www.facebook.com/pg/uda.gov.lk/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1751741304869896
Govt. to release 50 acres of capital land for investments
Tuesday, 28 November 2017 01:16
Reuters: Sri Lanka will release nearly 50 acres of state-owned land in the near future for investments in Colombo’s commercial area, a minister said on Monday, as the island nation targets a record $ 2.5 billion in total foreign direct investments next year. Land scarcity and strict land ownership rules for foreign investors have discouraged offshore investors so far.
President Maithripala Sirisena’s Coalition Government has been gradually clearing some state lands dwelled by illegal squatters, mainly around the historic Beira Lake.
“We can easily release up to 50 acres in the near future,” Megapolis and Western Development Minister Champika Ranawaka told Reuters.
“We will call for request for proposal first for the Government-owned land in the next year. All the shanties will be cleared by end of this year.”
A Government official, who has the knowledge on the proposed land sale, said the plan is to go for 99-year lease with an investment of at least Rs. 1.92 billion ($ 12.5 million) per acre.
The Government will target investments in tourism, leisure parks and mixed development projects in the area.
Beira Lake is now surrounded by Sri Lanka’s tallest Chinese-built Lotus Tower and some popular hotel chains including Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Asia and some owned by local conglomerate John Keells Holdings.
The head of the Government’s Board of Investment said last week the country aims to attract $ 2.5 billion in FDI next year from this year’s target of $ 1.5 billion.
- http://www.ft.lk/front-page/Govt--to-release-50-acres-of-capital-land-for-investments/44-644226
Beira Lake Intervention Area Development Plan launched
Tuesday, 28 November 2017 00:03
By Shannon Jayawardena
Under the initiative of the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development and the Urban Development Authority, the Beira Lake Intervention Area Development Plan was inaugurated in Colombo yesterday.
The ministry aims to restore the lake and turn it into the most scenic asset of Colombo by 2035.
Having had a highly urbanised catchment of 448 hectares, the lake was used for a wide variety of purposes during the colonial era of the Portuguese and English and was used as a port for transporting goods within the city plus suburban cities for it is connected to many intricate canals. Even today the Beira Lake is a centre for residential, industrial, commercial, tourism and religious activities. However, at present pollution has led to the eutrophication of the lake.
The Chief Guest at the launch, Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka, said: “The development plan that we launched today, which we have termed the Beira Lake Intervention Area Development Plan, certainly represents a vital element in the master plan to develop the central business district of the Megapolis. This area had very much been a theatre of intense political and economic activity for many centuries and hence had very great significance.”
“On one hand a good part of the water body was reclaimed to accommodate the military, commercial and administrative facilities of this establishment. On the other, the banks of the northern Beira were turned into docks and the waters became anchoring yards for ships that carried goods into the island. The area was effectively made the logistic hub of the city. Nonetheless, during the subsequent phase of the expansion of the Port of Colombo the lake got relegated to a backyard facility,” he added.
The development plan hopes to clear away all nearby slum dwellings and control the chaos which prevails around the area and create a picturesque place for both locals and tourists. For this purpose, the project has been divided into five categories implemented under the guidance of the Centre for Liveable Cities Singapore.
The five categories are to fruitfully improve all land around the lake, control pollution around the lake, incorporate the safety of nature during the process of development, safeguard the lake and bring in suitable events for both local and foreign tourists to enjoy and focus on the livelihood of the people.
While 27 hectares of the Beira belong to the Sri Lanka Railway Department, 26 hectares belong to the warehouses. The majority of this area belongs to the Port Authority and a total of 20 hectares will be parted as open space. The open space will be assigned to shops, cafeterias, cinema halls, cycle paths and rented homes.
In 2016 the Beira Development Project was granted Rs. 1.35 billion by the Government out of which 384 houses were constructed under the Urban Renewal Program. The plan recommends creating a garden setting around the lake and a green promenade will be continued around it to grant the public easy access to the lake.
All the access roads will be developed with tree lines with a more spacious area for walking and cycling. The development of a multimodal transport hub is also being initiated at the fort area, creating a host of economic and social benefits. The development of a diverse, balanced and integrated transit system which provides satisfactory service coverage for people and freight transport is what the ministry is aiming to achieve.
“Our vision is to celebrate both the natural beauty and rich history of the Beira Lake and its surrounding areas. The area is therefore envisioned to be the crown jewel of Colombo and a major destination for locals, visitors and investors,” stated Urban Development Authority Planning Deputy Director Priyani Nawarathna.
The National Housing Development Authority at the helm of the Beira’s housing plan stressed that the housing area will be divided into residential, commercial and public zones, where the public zone will be primarily tourist-based. The project will therefore not only capture the interest of locals but also attract countless tourists.
“When I first came to Sri Lanka together with my Executive Director, we immediately saw the wonderful potential of the Beira Lake. You’ve come very far but we can do more and I can see the passion. We hope to continue to work with you and to share more ideas,” said Centre for Liveable Cities Fellow Michael Koh.
-Pix by Shehan Gunasekara
- http://www.ft.lk/news/Beira-Lake-Intervention-Area-Development-Plan-launched/56-644223
On the right track JICA to fund Colombo’s LRTS
By 2017-11-28
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Tokyo's funding arm, will aid Sri Lanka to construct a Rs 187.5 billion Light Rail Transit System (LRTS) in Colombo to ease traffic congestion, a recently released Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) report said.
The project is expected to be completed by 2021. By end June 2017, JICA had completed topographic and geological surveys while the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) survey was in progress, the report said.
Meanwhile, JICA in a separate report said that the objectives of the project are to alleviate traffic congestion, provide better connectivity and mitigate air pollution in the Western region by constructing a mass rapid transit system (Light Rail Transit System), thereby contributing to the economic and social development of the Western region and improvement of the urban environment.
"The Government of Sri Lanka has negotiated for financing from JICA towards the cost of the Light Rail Transit System Project as a priority intervention in the Megapolis area," Project Implementer for the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development, added.
- http://www.ceylontoday.lk/print20170401CT20170630.php?id=35076
By 2017-11-28
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Tokyo's funding arm, will aid Sri Lanka to construct a Rs 187.5 billion Light Rail Transit System (LRTS) in Colombo to ease traffic congestion, a recently released Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) report said.
The project is expected to be completed by 2021. By end June 2017, JICA had completed topographic and geological surveys while the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) survey was in progress, the report said.
Meanwhile, JICA in a separate report said that the objectives of the project are to alleviate traffic congestion, provide better connectivity and mitigate air pollution in the Western region by constructing a mass rapid transit system (Light Rail Transit System), thereby contributing to the economic and social development of the Western region and improvement of the urban environment.
"The Government of Sri Lanka has negotiated for financing from JICA towards the cost of the Light Rail Transit System Project as a priority intervention in the Megapolis area," Project Implementer for the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development, added.
- http://www.ceylontoday.lk/print20170401CT20170630.php?id=35076
Outer Circular Highway Project - Phase 3
- https://www.facebook.com/pramodh229/posts/1862558763772734
- https://www.facebook.com/pramodh229/posts/1862558763772734
බේරේ - රන්මසු පුර බවට පත්වේ.
මහනගර හා බස්නාහිර සංවර්ධන අමාත්යංශයේ මග පෙන්වීමෙන්,නාගරික සංවර්ධන අධිකාරිය මගින් ක්රියාත්මක බෙරේ වැව සංවර්ධන සැලසුම අද දින (27) මහනගර අමාත්ය පාඨලී චම්පික රණවක මැතිතුමාගේ ප්රධානත්වයෙන් පැවැත්විණි.එම සැලසුම රන්මසු පුර නමින් එළි දැක්වුණු අතර ඉදිරියේදී බෙරේ නම වෙනුවට රන්මසුපුර නමින් භාවිතා වනු ඇත.
සිංගප්පූරු කෝපරේෂන් එන්ටර්ප්රයිසස්, තෙමාසසෙක් පදනම සහ ලයිව්බල් සිටීස් යන ආයතනයන් හි උපදේශකත්වයෙන් නාගරික සංවර්ධන අධිකාරියේ නිලධාරීන්ගේ ද දායකත්වය ඇතිව සැකසුණු රන්මසු පුර සංවර්ධන සැලැස්ම, සැලසුම් 5 ක් යටතේ කි්රයාත්මක කෙරේ.එනම්, බේරේ වැව වටා ඇති සියළුම ඉඩම් ඉහළ ඵලදායිතාවකට දියුණු කිරීම, බේරේ වැව අපවිත්රවන ආකාරයේ සියළු භාවිතයන් පාලනය කිරීම, ස්වභාවික පරිසරය ආරක්ෂා කර ගනිමින් යෝජිත සංවර්ධනය සැලසුම් කිරීම, දේශීය හා විදේශීය ජනතාවට බේරේ වැව වෙත ලඟාවීමට හැකිවන පරිදි වැව රක්ෂිතය විවෘත කර සංවර්ධනය කිරීම හා විනේද කටයුතු සඳහා අවශ්ය පහසුකම් දියුණු කිරීම, දේශීය ජනතාව සඳහා තම ආදායම් මාර්ග වැඩිදියුණු කිරීමේ අවස්ථා වැඩිකිරීම හා ආර්ථික දියුණුව ඇති කිරීම සිදු කෙරේ. ඒ අනුව රන්මසු පුර ව්යාපෘතිය යටතේ හඳුනාගත් ප්රදේශයට විශේෂ කලාපීකරණ රෙගුලාසි සකස් කර ඇත.
- https://www.facebook.com/pg/uda.gov.lk/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1751741304869896
Govt. to release 50 acres of capital land for investments
Tuesday, 28 November 2017 01:16
Reuters: Sri Lanka will release nearly 50 acres of state-owned land in the near future for investments in Colombo’s commercial area, a minister said on Monday, as the island nation targets a record $ 2.5 billion in total foreign direct investments next year. Land scarcity and strict land ownership rules for foreign investors have discouraged offshore investors so far.
President Maithripala Sirisena’s Coalition Government has been gradually clearing some state lands dwelled by illegal squatters, mainly around the historic Beira Lake.
“We can easily release up to 50 acres in the near future,” Megapolis and Western Development Minister Champika Ranawaka told Reuters.
“We will call for request for proposal first for the Government-owned land in the next year. All the shanties will be cleared by end of this year.”
A Government official, who has the knowledge on the proposed land sale, said the plan is to go for 99-year lease with an investment of at least Rs. 1.92 billion ($ 12.5 million) per acre.
The Government will target investments in tourism, leisure parks and mixed development projects in the area.
Beira Lake is now surrounded by Sri Lanka’s tallest Chinese-built Lotus Tower and some popular hotel chains including Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Asia and some owned by local conglomerate John Keells Holdings.
The head of the Government’s Board of Investment said last week the country aims to attract $ 2.5 billion in FDI next year from this year’s target of $ 1.5 billion.
- http://www.ft.lk/front-page/Govt--to-release-50-acres-of-capital-land-for-investments/44-644226
Beira Lake Intervention Area Development Plan launched
Tuesday, 28 November 2017 00:03
By Shannon Jayawardena
Under the initiative of the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development and the Urban Development Authority, the Beira Lake Intervention Area Development Plan was inaugurated in Colombo yesterday.
The ministry aims to restore the lake and turn it into the most scenic asset of Colombo by 2035.
Having had a highly urbanised catchment of 448 hectares, the lake was used for a wide variety of purposes during the colonial era of the Portuguese and English and was used as a port for transporting goods within the city plus suburban cities for it is connected to many intricate canals. Even today the Beira Lake is a centre for residential, industrial, commercial, tourism and religious activities. However, at present pollution has led to the eutrophication of the lake.
The Chief Guest at the launch, Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka, said: “The development plan that we launched today, which we have termed the Beira Lake Intervention Area Development Plan, certainly represents a vital element in the master plan to develop the central business district of the Megapolis. This area had very much been a theatre of intense political and economic activity for many centuries and hence had very great significance.”
“On one hand a good part of the water body was reclaimed to accommodate the military, commercial and administrative facilities of this establishment. On the other, the banks of the northern Beira were turned into docks and the waters became anchoring yards for ships that carried goods into the island. The area was effectively made the logistic hub of the city. Nonetheless, during the subsequent phase of the expansion of the Port of Colombo the lake got relegated to a backyard facility,” he added.
The development plan hopes to clear away all nearby slum dwellings and control the chaos which prevails around the area and create a picturesque place for both locals and tourists. For this purpose, the project has been divided into five categories implemented under the guidance of the Centre for Liveable Cities Singapore.
The five categories are to fruitfully improve all land around the lake, control pollution around the lake, incorporate the safety of nature during the process of development, safeguard the lake and bring in suitable events for both local and foreign tourists to enjoy and focus on the livelihood of the people.
While 27 hectares of the Beira belong to the Sri Lanka Railway Department, 26 hectares belong to the warehouses. The majority of this area belongs to the Port Authority and a total of 20 hectares will be parted as open space. The open space will be assigned to shops, cafeterias, cinema halls, cycle paths and rented homes.
In 2016 the Beira Development Project was granted Rs. 1.35 billion by the Government out of which 384 houses were constructed under the Urban Renewal Program. The plan recommends creating a garden setting around the lake and a green promenade will be continued around it to grant the public easy access to the lake.
All the access roads will be developed with tree lines with a more spacious area for walking and cycling. The development of a multimodal transport hub is also being initiated at the fort area, creating a host of economic and social benefits. The development of a diverse, balanced and integrated transit system which provides satisfactory service coverage for people and freight transport is what the ministry is aiming to achieve.
“Our vision is to celebrate both the natural beauty and rich history of the Beira Lake and its surrounding areas. The area is therefore envisioned to be the crown jewel of Colombo and a major destination for locals, visitors and investors,” stated Urban Development Authority Planning Deputy Director Priyani Nawarathna.
The National Housing Development Authority at the helm of the Beira’s housing plan stressed that the housing area will be divided into residential, commercial and public zones, where the public zone will be primarily tourist-based. The project will therefore not only capture the interest of locals but also attract countless tourists.
“When I first came to Sri Lanka together with my Executive Director, we immediately saw the wonderful potential of the Beira Lake. You’ve come very far but we can do more and I can see the passion. We hope to continue to work with you and to share more ideas,” said Centre for Liveable Cities Fellow Michael Koh.
-Pix by Shehan Gunasekara
- http://www.ft.lk/news/Beira-Lake-Intervention-Area-Development-Plan-launched/56-644223
Elakiri
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