|mo|o's Coml||oul|om lo

3|| |om-om |mt|osl|uclu|e

120 The Masterbu||der - January 2013 www.masterbu||der.co.|n
Cmo|lomyo o, Ooyo|
c|v|| war he|d back domest|c and ore|gn
|nvestment. Pestr|ct|ons |mposed to
upho|d secur|ty a|so had a ||m|t|ng eect
and thus the u|| potent|a| o the economy
s|mp|y cou|d not be rea||zed. But nowthat
peace has dawned |n the country, |t |s
|mportant that these |osses are recov-
ered to the max|mum poss|b|e extent.
The Lankan Government |ooks comm|t-
ted to br|ng|ng about the econom|c resur-
gence that the nat|on deserves and has
a|ready |aunched a dynam|c deve|op-
ment programme throughout the country
to acce|erate the econom|c growth.
A |ook back at the growth peror-
mances o other comparab|e econo-
m|es, post-G|oba| F|nanc|a| Cr|s|s (GFC),
shows Sr| Lanka ma|nta|n|ng a re|at|ve|y
stronger growth o over 8% |n the past 3
years, |arge|y spurred by pr|vate-sector
demand. Sr| Lanka posted the astest
growth |n South As|a |n 2011, cont|nued
the trend |n 2012 and |s expected to
ach|eve the same |n 2013. The govern-
ment spent Ps. (Lankan Pupees) 248 b||-
||on|n2011or thedeve|opment o nat|ona|
|nrastructure ac|||t|es, |ncreas|ng the
spend to approx|mate|y 328 b||||on |n
2012. Overa||, the government spent 94
entur|es ago, anlnd|anpr|nce trav-
e||ed to the great |s|and down
Csouth to ree h|s abducted w|e
rom the c|utches o ev||. W|th the he|p o
h|s army, he successu||y rescued her
and ended the w|cked re|gn preva|||ng |n
the reg|on wh||e crown|ng a new, w|se
and capab|e k|ng or the peop|e. Thus
began the ta|e o a remarkab|e re|at|on-
sh|p, wh|ch over the centur|es has cont|n-
ued to grow!
Not so |ong ago, Sr| Lanka was |n the
news on account o the c|v|| war that kept
the country |n the head||nes. Fortunate|y
and deserv|ng|y the t|mes have now
changed or the teardrop|s|and!
TheWinds of Change: ANewBeginning
lt has been three years s|nce Sr|
Lanka emerged rom the shadows o
|nterna| con||ct that had |asted or th|rty
years. The |osses suered dur|ng the
per|od, |n terms o ||ves, property and
opportun|t|es or growth were many. The
InternationaI
b||||on or deve|opment o h|ghways, 39
b||||on or power sector, 15 b||||on or
ports and av|at|on, and 13 b||||on or |rr|-
gat|on, 9 b||||on or agr|cu|ture and pro-
duct|on, 17 b||||on or water supp|y, 13
b||||on or educat|on, 10 b||||on or hea|th
serv|ces, 26 b||||on or rura| v|||age dev-
e|opment, 31 b||||on or transport and
56 b||||on or adm|n|strat|on and |ud|c|a|
secur|ty |n2012.
Spec|a| emphas|s has been p|aced
on the deve|opment o transport |nra-
structure such as road and ra|| networks.
The nat|ona| h|ghway network |s cont|nu-
a||y be|ng |mproved. lt |s soon to be aug-
mented by new roads such as the South-
ern H|ghway and the Outer C|rcu|ar
Poads. The roads and br|dges |nthe East-
ern Prov|nce have a|most comp|ete|y
been redone and the road network |n the
North|s present|y be|ng deve|oped.
The ra||way system |s a|so undergo-
|ng a remarkab|e growth. New tracks are
be|ng |a|d to Ta|a|mannar, and the track to
Jana |s be|ng rebu||t. The ra||way ||nes |n
the south are a|so be|ng extended. ln
add|t|on to these, Ferry serv|ces between
Sr| Lanka and lnd|a w||| soon commence.
These serv|ces w||| operate between
Ta|a|mannar and Pameswaram, and
between Co|ombo and Tut|cor|n. The
enhanced connect|v|ty prov|ded by a||
th|s |nrastructure deve|opment |s v|ta| or
uture growth.
Another area |n wh|ch a |ot o deve|-
opment |s tak|ng p|ace |s the nat|ona|
energy |nrastructure. Power p|ants at
Norochcho|a|, Kerawa|ap|t|ya and upper
Kotma|e w||| augment the nat|ona| gr|d
and prov|de the energy needs to support
Lankaneconom|c resurgence.
The reg|ona| deve|opment |n|t|at|ves
known as thuru Wasanthaya (Northern
Spr|ng) and Nagenah|ra Navodhaya
(Eastern Pev|va|), have rap|d|y bu||t up
v|ta| |nrastructure|nc|ud|ngroads, br|dges
and |rr|gat|on systems, |n the new|y ||ber-
ated areas. These |n|t|at|ves have created
an env|ronment conduc|ve or |nvestment
|nthese new|y access|b|e reg|ons.
Adding substance to the Development:
ndiancontribution
lnd|a and Sr| Lanka have a|ways
en|oyed a spec|a| re|at|onsh|p not on|y
due to the|r c|ose geograph|ca| prox|m|ty
but because o the|r cu|tura|, re||g|ous
and ethn|c a|n|t|es and shared h|story.
Perhaps that |s one reason, boththe coun-
tr|es be||eve |nshar|ng respons|b|||ty too.
Be|ng a part o the deve|op|ng wor|d
and |nsp|red by the SAAPC exper|ence,
lnd|a has ocused on consu|tat|ve and
respons|ve mode| o cooperat|on towards
|nrastructure deve|opment, ||ve||hood
restorat|on, capac|ty bu||d|ng as we|| as
human resource deve|opment |n Sr|
Lanka. The cooperat|on between the two
nat|ons a|ms towards promot|ng trade
and |nvestment adopt|ng partnersh|p
approach.
lmmed|ate|y ater the end o the c|v||
war |n May 2009, lnd|a sca|ed up |ts
deve|opment ass|stance to Sr| Lanka sub-
stant|a||y. Th|s |owed rom the announce-
ment by the Pr|me M|n|ster o lnd|a, Dr.
Manmohan S|ngh, regard|ng an |n|t|a|
re||e, rehab|||tat|on, and reconstruct|on
package o lNP 500 crore (SD 105 m||-
lnrastructure deve|opment |s ga|n|ng momentum |n Sr| Lanka
Ga||e-Matara coasta| ra||way ||ne executed by lPCON
www.masterbu||der.co.|n The Masterbu||der - January 2013
||on) or Sr| Lanka. Subsequent|y, dur|ng
the v|s|t o Lankan Pres|dent Mah|nda
Pa|apaksa to New De|h| rom 8-11 June
2010, a number o pro|ects were |dent|-
|ed or |mp|ementat|on |n the lnd|a-Sr|
Lanka Jo|nt Dec|arat|on o 9 June 2010.
These pro|ects were |nanced under
lnd|an ||nes o cred|t to Sr| Lanka worth
more than lNP 6000 Crore. Some ma|or
pro|ects are descr|bed be|ow:
Construction of 50,000 houses in North-
ernandEasternProvinces
Aware o the enorm|ty o hous|ng
needs |n the con||ct-aected areas, lnd|a
devoted a ||ons share o |ts overa||
resources ded|cated or deve|opment
ass|stance to Sr| Lanka to th|s sector. The
Pr|me M|n|ster o lnd|a, Dr. Manmohan
S|ngh announced lnd|as comm|tment to
bu||d 50,000 hous|ng un|ts dur|ng the
State v|s|t o the Pres|dent o Sr| Lanka,
InternationaI
121
The Masterbu||der - January 2013 www.masterbu||der.co.|n
Agreements were s|gned on 13 Ju|y
2012 w|th our lmp|ement|ng Agenc|es
(N-HABlTAT, lnternat|ona| Federat|on o
Ped Cross & Ped Crescent Soc|et|es
(lFPC) |n partnersh|p w|th Sr| Lanka Ped
Cross, Nat|ona| Hous|ng Deve|opment
Agency (NHDA) o the Government o Sr|
Lanka, and Hab|tat or Human|ty, Sr|
Lanka) or construct|on o 43,000
houses, over a per|od o three years. The
work on th|s phase began on 2nd Octo-
ber 2012.
The construct|on o the rema|n|ng
6,000 houses w||| be undertaken at a cost
o lNP 320 crore and w||| beg|n by Janu-
ary, 2013.
Rehabilitation of Northern and
SouthernRailway
Based on the request o the Govern-
Mah|nda Pa|apaksa, to lnd|a |n June
2010. The Hous|ng Pro|ect, w|th a com-
m|tment o over S$ 270 m||||on |n grants,
|s the |agsh|p pro|ect o lnd|as deve|op-
menta| ass|stance to Sr| Lanka. lt |s per-
haps the |argest such pro|ect undertaken
by lnd|a anywhere |nthe wor|d.
The |rst phase was a p||ot pro|ect or
construct|ono 1,000 houses, w|thanout-
|ay o over S$ 10 m||||on, |aunched |n
November 2010. Th|s pro|ect covered
severa| s|tes d|str|buted |n a|| |ve d|str|cts
o the Northern Prov|nce Jana, K||||no-
chch|, Mannar, Mu||a|t|vu and vavun|ya.
Techn|ca| mon|tor|ng and eva|uat|on o
th|s pro|ect was carr|ed out by H|ndustan
Pre Fab Ltd. (HPL), wh|ch |s a Pub||c Sec-
tor ndertak|ng o the Government o
lnd|a. The w|de|y-d|spersed s|tes, severa|
o wh|ch were covered by th|ck |ung|e,
w|th poor road and e|ectr|ca| connect|v|ty,
requ|red extens|ve dem|n|ng and |ung|e
c|earance. These cha||enges were suc-
cessu||y overcome and the |rst phase o
the pro|ect was handed over to the bene-
|c|ar|es |nAugust 2012.
The hous|ng un|ts constructed under
th|s Pro|ect were popu|ar amongst the
peop|e, as they were spac|ous, we||
des|gned and constructed to h|gh qua||ty
spec||cat|ons. The moda||t|es o |mp|e-
mentat|on o the next phase - the con-
struct|on o the rema|n|ng 49,000 houses
were out||ned |n a MO s|gned w|th the
Government o Sr| Lanka. Th|s phase,
|nvo|v|ng a grant ass|stance o about S$
260 m||||on, w||| cover the Northern, East-
ern, Centra| and va prov|nces and
|nvo|ve construct|on o newdwe|||ng un|ts
and repa|rs o ex|st|ng houses.
ment o Sr| Lanka, Government o lnd|a
approved a pro|ect to restore ra||way
||nes and supp|y ro|||ng stock on d|erent
routes o southern and northern prov|nce
under concess|ona| ||ne o cred|t.
The southern ra||way pro|ect was
env|saged as a post-tsunam| reconstruc-
t|on and a ||ne o cred|t agreement o
$100 m||||on was s|gned |n Ju|y 2008 or
Track |ay|ng on the Ka|utara-Ga||e (76
km) sect|on wh|ch was comp|eted |n Feb-
2011. An extens|on o $67.4 m||||on was
s|gned |n March 2010 or track |ay|ng o
Ga||e-Matara sect|on (42 km). The ent|re
pro|ect (both phases) was executed by
lPCON (lnd|an Pa||way Construct|on
Company Ltd.), GOl, under the superv|-
s|on o CECB, Sr| Lanka and Sr| Lanka
Pa||ways, and was successu||y com-
p|eted ahead o schedu|e |n Apr|| 2012.ln
122
The southern ra||way pro|ect was |naugurated by Externa| Aa|rs M|n|ster SM
Kr|shna ear|y th|s year
The Kankesanthura| Harbor was damaged extens|ve|y ater the 2004 Tsunam|
and Cyc|one N|sha, 2008
A house constructed |n the Northern Prov|nce as a part o the hous|ng scheme
InternationaI
Rehabilitation of Kankesanthurai Har-
bour
The KKS harbour and the berth|ng
p|ers were extens|ve|y damaged dur|ng
the tsunam| |n 2004 and the cyc|one
N|sha |n 2008. Bes|des damage to the
ex|st|ng |nrastructure there were sunken
sh|ps |ns|de the harbor |n severa| |oca-
t|ons wh|ch were ma|or h|ndrance or sae
vesse| movement. The var|ous phases o
the pro|ect work |nc|uded Hydrograph|c
Survey, Wreck remova| and d|sposa|,
Dredg|ng, Pehab|||tat|on o breakwater/
p|er and construct|on o new p|er w|th
attendant port ac|||t|es.
The ent|re pro|ect was |mp|emented
|n s|x stages and comp|eted |n January
2012 w|th comb|ned eorts o PlTES,
Peso|ve Sa|vage and F|re (As|a) Pvt. Ltd.,
Dredg|ng Corporat|on o lnd|a and the
lnd|anNavy.
Rehabilitationof Palaly Airport
S|tuated at the northern-most t|po Sr|
Lanka, th|s so ca||ed a|rport prov|des the
on|y a|r ||nk to Jana rom rest o Sr|
Lanka. The runway was constructed dur-
|ng Wor|d War ll and was |ast resuraced
|n 1972. GOl had rehab|||tated 950 m run-
way and construct|on o 75 m ramp at a
cost o lNP 18.14 Crore and has pro-
posed to ass|st GoSL |n rehab|||tat|on o
Pa|a|y a|r|e|d and |ts ut|||zat|on as a
domest|c/ reg|ona| a|rport.
Construction of 500 MW Thermal power
plant at Sampur
The Jo|nt venture Agreement or the
500 MW Sampur coa| power p|ant, the
|argest such |n|t|at|ve between the two
countr|es so ar, was s|gned recent|y and
the p|ant |s expected to come on-stream
by m|d-2016. Nat|ona| Therma| power
corporat|on (NTPC) o GOl w||| be execut-
|ng the pro|ect.
A|so, the construct|on o |ve voca-
t|ona| Tra|n|ng Centers |n Northern and
Eastern prov|nces at a cost o lNP 25
Crore, Penovat|on o the Dur|appah Sta-
d|um |n Jana and construct|on o a new
Cu|tura| Centre |n Jana at a cost o 37
crore are some other pro|ects under-
takenby GOl |nSr| Lanka.
Sri Lanka: Theemerging"Wonder of Asia
The Sr| LankanGovernment has been
show|ng a deep and ab|d|ng comm|t-
ment to br|ng about a remarkab|e rena|s-
sance |n the country. The part|c|pat|on o
|ts r|ends overseas, |n th|s rev|va| |s
h|gh|y ant|c|pated and w||| p|ay a cruc|a|
ro|e |n ach|evement o the des|red goa|s.
The eorts o the lnd|an Govt. |n th|s
deve|opment have |ndeed |et an ever-
|ast|ng |mpr|nt on the h|story o Sr| Lankan
resurgence and contr|buted s|gn||cant|y
|n strengthen|ng the t|es o the two
nat|ons.
Pecent|y, the lnternat|ona| Cr|cket
Counc|| a|so se|ected Sr| Lanka as the
so|e host|ng nat|on o the Twenty20 Wor|d
Cup|n 2012. A|| these deve|opments |nd|-
cate towards the v|gorous |nrastructura|
growthtak|ng p|ace |nthe nat|on.
At a t|me when rest o the wor|d |s st|||
suer|ng the repercuss|ons o the reces-
s|on and strugg||ng to pac|y the|r unsta-
b|e econom|es - Sr| Lanka, post con||ct,
|s en|oy|ng a per|od o growth and opt|-
m|sm unpara||e|ed |n recent decades.
Th|s |s one country wh|ch |s undoubted|y
po|sed to be the m|rac|e o As|a!
add|t|on, the L|ne o Cred|t |s a|so be|ng
used or supp|y o 20 sets o D|ese| Mu|t|-
p|e n|ts (DMs), three un|ts o |ocomo-
t|ves, spare parts or the ex|st|ng M8 c|ass
|ocomot|ves, supp|y o p|ant and mach|n-
ery or ma|ntenance o ex|st|ng DMs
and construct|on o ma|ntenance sheds
at A|uthgama, Ga||e and Co|ombo by
PlTESlnd|a L|m|ted.
ln the Northern Prov|nce o Sr| Lanka
wh|ch was the recent|y host||e c|v|| war
reg|on, the o||ow|ng ra||way rehab|||tat|on
pro|ects are current|y be|ng executed by
lPCON: Omantha| Pa||a| (90.50 km),
Madhu Poad - Ta|a|mannar (63 km),
Medawach-ch|ya - Madhu Poad (43 km),
Pa||a| - Kankesanthura| (56 km) and
lnsta||at|on o S|gna||ng and Te|ecommu-
n|cat|ons Systems or ent|re ra||way net-
work |n Northern Prov|nce. F|nanced by
the same lnd|an concess|ona| ||ne o
cred|t o SD 800 m||||on |n Nov. 2010,
th|s pro|ect |s expected to be comp|eted
onschedu|e by December 2013. The pro-
|ect a|so |nc|udes supp|y o ro|||ng stock.
The Masterbu||der - January 2013 www.masterbu||der.co.|n 124
Pehab|||tat|on work under progress on Pa|a|y A|rport, Jana
The cu|tura| centre at Jana once comp|eted w||| become an arch|tectura| |andmark |n the reg|on
InternationaI