News

The Board of Directors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $10 million technical assistance loan to finance the establishment of a facility that will help improve the design and implementation of urban projects in Sri Lanka, particularly with climate resilient and inclusive features to make cities more livable.

“Urban projects are complex and require meticulous and significant preparation time to ensure they deliver their intended development impacts,” said ADB Senior Urban Development Specialist Mr. Ron Slangen. “The ADB-supported facility will ensure urban projects rolled out in the country are impactful, sustainable, and beneficial to the people of Sri Lanka.”

There is a need for better and more timely delivery of urban infrastructure services in Sri Lanka, with more than 20% of the country’s population living in cities that contribute about 40% of gross domestic product. However, based on ADB’s experience in Sri Lanka, there is a need to strengthen long-term strategic investment planning and engineering capacity in urban departments to meet the increasing challenges of urbanization.

These factors have posed issues to Sri Lanka’s development as they limit the number of readily available investment-grade projects, result in implementation delays, and ultimately affect the timely delivery of benefits to the people.

The facility, financed by ADB’s ordinary capital resources, will strengthen project readiness and institutional capacity in Sri Lanka’s urban sector through advanced feasibility studies and detailed designs that incorporate climate and disaster resilience as well as gender-friendly features in up to 29 cities. It will also provide advanced implementation support through the preparation of bidding documents for advanced contracting and safeguard documents for ensuing pipeline projects.

A $1 million technical assistance for Capacity Building for Secondary Towns and Strategic Cities attached to the facility, meanwhile, will strengthen the institutional capacity of project agencies to design and manage urban infrastructure projects, as well as urban governance improvement programs applying best practices.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has stepped into Improve Solid Waste Management in Uva Province. JICA  completed a pilot project to improve the Galapitagalayaya landfill site which is the final disposal site and the compost plant for the intermediate treatment of solid wastes collected in the urban centers at Kataragama Pradeshiya Sabha area in Uva Province.
 
The improvement works include the construction of waste discharge cell with bottom liner system using local available clay soil material, a drainage system, a leachate treatment system, etc, JICA announced.    

The improved landfill site will minimize the adverse environmental impact from wastes disposal, such as preventing contamination of leachate to underground water. The landfill site and compost plant are managed by Kataragama Pradeshiya Sabha with the support of Uva Provincial Council and Central Environmental Authority (CEA).
 
At the improved landfill site and compost plant, the JICA expert team will transfer the knowledge and skills for proper maintenance of the landfill site by measuring wastes, keeping records, and guiding waste collection vehicles for proper and efficient disposal of waste.
 
In addition, there are numerous project activities to follow, such as 3Rs (reduce, reuse, and recycle) awareness raising, improvement of collection system and efficiency using GPS tracking data and proper discharge and collection methods, and composting of separated organic wastes from hotels and restaurants in Kataragama Pradeshiya Sabha area.

The current Inspector General of Police (IGP) is behaving in a manner that is bringing disrepute the whole of Sri Lanka Police and its history, says JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
 
According to him there are serious doubts regarding the investigations conducted under him. “IGP is behaving like a child and it therefore has aroused suspicions on the trustworthiness of these investigations” he said. 
 
He expressed these view following his visit to Anunayake Thero of Malwathu Chapter at Kandy, today (19).Dissanayake further said that the IGP seems to have already come to conclusions of his own regarding the phone recordings on the alleged conspiracy to assassinate the President, prior to any investigations are conducted. (Derana)

Sri Lanka has decided against giving control of Palaly Airport to India just days after the state-run Airport Authority of India made a move to develop it.

Civil aviation minister Nirmal Sripala De Silva told the parliament that the government had no intention of handing over the airport to Indian authorities.

He further said that the airport would be developed in partnership with the Tourism Development Fund and the Civil Aviation Authority.

His statement comes as the AAI, in a statement issued on Monday, said that it has signed an agreement with External Affairs Ministry for "preparation of a Detailed Project Report for development of Palaly airport in Sri Lanka". This would have been the first project for the AAI in the island nation.

Silva, in Parliament, junked the statement and said that not just Palaly, but the government had no intention of handing over Higurakgoda, Baticaloa, Koggala, Digana and Trincomalee airports to other countries and that all the airports would be developed as domestic airports.

AAI’s bid to develop the airport was being seen as a strategic move as Palaly is in Jaffna, a predominantly Tamil territory. It was also dubbed as a move to counter China’s growing presence in the region by developing critical infrastructure.

The handover of the Palaly airport is the latest in the issues that Sri Lanka and India face.Last month, Silva had told Lankan parliament that the country’s government had asked the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to submit its business plan to operate the loss-making Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport.

However, De Silva’s Indian counterpart Jayant Sinha earlier told Parliament that there was no proposal under consideration for the AAI to buy a controlling stake in the airport. Sinha also clarified that there were no plans for the AAI to build a flying school and a maintenance, repair and overhaul unit at the airport.

However, the confusion refused to die down as just days later, the Ministry of External Affairs said New Delhi was considering Sri Lanka’s proposal.

The Sri Lankan government has spent more than Rs. 13.5 billion to provide relief to drought-stricken people, Minister of Disaster Management Duminda Dissanayake said.
 
Speaking at a media briefing, the Minister said that the present government has allocated the highest amount for the drought relief efforts.
 
Over 900,000 people from 260,000 families in 18 districts are severely affected by the dry weather.
 
The most affected districts by the drought are Anuradhapura, Kalutara, Moneragala, Kurunegala, Ratnapura, Puttalam, Mullaitivu, Trincomalee, Kegalle, Jaffna, Ampara, Vavuniya, Kilinochchi, Polonnaruwa, Batticaloa, Matale, Mannar and Hambantota.
 
The government has taken measures to meet the needs of affected people, including drinking water, the Minister said.
 
The government has spent more than Rs. 64 million from January this year alone to supply drinking water to 97 Divisional Secretariat Divisions affected by the drought.
 
Over 11,000 water tanks have been distributed and the cost incurred by the government was 91 million rupees.

In anticipation of new U.S. sanctions against Tehran, Sri Lankan energy officials said Tuesday the South Asian nation has stopped importing Iranian crude oil.

“We stopped as soon as the sanctions were announced,” Sri Lankan petroleum resources development minister Arjuna Ranatunga was quoted as saying in Abu Dhabi’s leading English language newspaper, The National. “We didn’t buy [directly] from Iran. We buy from Singapore, Dubai, Fujairah.”

The move is the latest global reaction to the Trump administration’s effort to kill Tehran’s oil exports in the wake of Washington withdrawing from multilateral 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran last May.

While the U.S. has already reimposed some finical penalties against Tehran, in early November major sanctions kick in aimed at punishing countries who buy Iranian oil by blocking their access to U.S. markets and financial institutions.

The aggressive Trump administration measures have proven extremely effective, energy analysts said, with data showing that Iranian oil exports have plunged about 35 percent since April.

One of South Asia’s smaller oil consumers, Sri Lanka, had been importing nearly all of its 50,000 barrels per day from Iran.

Following earlier threats about the oil sanctions on Tehran, Sri Lanka’s state oil company had considered sidestepping the penalties by paying for its crude imports with tea, according to local reports.

Sri Lanka is the world’s second-largest tea producer after Kenya.

Iran, a massive tea consumer, imports 90 percent of the commodity from India and Sri Lanka.

Colombo, however, wanted to ensure it didn’t fall afoul of Washington, Mr. Ranatunga said, The National reported.

He also declined to comment on where the new Sri Lanka oil imports will come from.

South Asia’s largest importer of Iranian crude, India, has also recently announced its refiners will cut their monthly imports from Tehran for September and October by nearly half from earlier this year.

India is Iran’s second-largest oil client behind top buyer China.

Although officials in New Delhi have said they do not recognize Washington’s reimposed sanctions, they have also been working to secure waivers from the Trump administration to avoid penalties, in addition to curbing their reliance on Iranian crude.


(Washington Times)

Sri Lanka’s central expressway project is stuck midway owing to the delay in Phase 1 and 3 of the project, Minister of Public Enterprise & Kandy City Development Lakshman Kiriella claimed.
 
According to the Minister however arrangements have been made to open phase two of the central expressway by August 2019.
 
The second phase of Sri Lanka's central expressway from Colombo to Kandy is built by 16 local contractors is already 25 percent complete and is on track to be finished by December 2019, 
 
The other two sections of the expressway are being delayed due to construction and funding issues.
 
The Road Development Authority (RDA) has sought government intervention to expedite a Chinese loan to get going with a multi billion rupee expressway project delayed for more than two and half years.
 
The loan amounting to US$ 1.1 billion (Rs 160 billion) approved by the Exim Bank of China has been delayed for unknown reasons, thereby preventing the RDA from carrying on with the construction of the first phase  of the Central Expressway project from Kadawatha to Mirigama – a stretch of 37.09 km.
 
Although the Exim bank of China had approved the loan, the bank needed approval from the Government to release the funds.Awarding the Phase 3 construction contract to Taisei Japanese Company has also  raised several issues.
 
The process followed in granting this contract as well as the previous track record of the company including being the cause behind a giant sinkhole in Fukuoka, Japan has become stumbling block for the project.It was also reported recently that Taisei had requested payment of 4 Billion Rupees for a 190-day delay in taking over the Colombo Outer Circular Expressway project.Tasiei had warned if an immediate decision is not made with regard to the amount in question, that there would be an impact on the construction of phase three of the Central Expressway.

With a vision of inspiring our future generation on the need for imagination, the value of invention and the power of innovation, Royal College, being in the fore-front of Sri Lanka’s education system, presents Spark’18, an innovation exhibition taking place from 25 to 28 September 2018 at the Royal College premises for the first time.
 
With over 600 innovations and inventions taking centre stage, Spark’18 will be the first innovation exhibition of such scale and magnitude to be held in the country.  Other than exhibits from students of Royal College, Spark’18 will also feature inventions and innovations from over 100 students representing various schools from across the country. To further inspire the youth to think innovatively, Spark’18 will also showcase Sri Lanka’s Top 10 inventions, which were selected at an island-wide competition organized by Sri Lanka Inventors Commission, the apex body to promote inventiveness among the citizens of Sri Lanka.
 
Also joining hands onboard Spark’18 to add glamour and value as a centerpiece attraction are the Tri Forces – Sri Lanka Army, Sri Lanka Air Force and Sri Lanka Navy, who will bring to stage their innovations as well as their research and development projects.

Further to showcase the futuristic outlook of information communication technology, Dialog Axiata will give host to a dedicated Future Pavilion at the exhibition, while Microsoft Sri Lanka have also come on board to showcase their innovative technology solutions.

Due to the national significance of this venture, Spark 2018 is endorsed by The Presidential Secretariat, The Prime Ministers Office, The Ministry of Education, The Ministry of Science, Technology & Research and The Ministry of Finance & Mass Media. The exhibition is to be inaugurated under the distinguished patronage of the Prime Minister Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The exhibition will be open to the public from 9 am to 3.30 pm free of charge, and expects many school children from across the country visiting to be inspired by the innovations in display.

Spark 2018 is powered by Dialog Axiata PLC as the Principal Sponsor along-side Food & Beverage Partner Elephant House, Technological Partner Microsoft Sri Lanka, Co- Sponsors National Lotteries Board and Development Lotteries Board and Printing Partner Softwave.

Sri Lanka motor traders are to be greatly affected by the Central Bank’s recent directive of imposing upfront payment for letters of credit (LCs) in the wake of depreciation of the rupee, vehicle importers complained.
 
They said that motor dealers will have to close down their business as they are not in a position to pay cash up front for opening LCs to bring down vehicles.
   
The Monetary Board of the Central Bank imposed a 100 per cent margin deposit requirement against Letters of Credit opened with the commercial banks for the import of motor vehicles, which are generally used for non-commercial purposes, with immediate effect.
 
Accordingly, Letters of Credit for the importation of these vehicle categories could be done only with a minimum cash margin of 100 per cent.
 
The decision to impose the margin deposit requirement is based on recent developments which, if not addressed, could threaten macroeconomic stability, the Central Bank said. 
 
The imposition of the margin deposit requirement, together with the measures already taken by the government with regard to taxes applicable on motor vehicle imports, is expected to curb non-essential imports of motor vehicles, and ease undue pressure on the current account of the balance of payments (BOP) and the exchange rate, the CB said.

The Court of Appeal today rejected the request by Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran and two others to postpone the Contempt of Court case filed against them until a verdict is issued by the Supreme Court.
 
The request was made by Wigneswaran, Northern Province Ministers Ananthy Sasitharan and P. Sivanesan.
 
The Court of Appeal recently issued an interim order, halting the decision of Wigneswaran to remove Balasubramaniam Deniswaran, former Northern Province Minister of Fisheries, Transport, Trade and Rural Development, from his ministerial portfolio.
 
Subsequently, B. Deniswaran filed a complaint a complaint at the Court of Appeal against CM Wigneswaran accusing him of Contempt of Court by failing to carry out the court order to re-appoint him in his ministerial portfolio until now.
 
Accordingly, they requested the court to postpone the hearing of the case until the Supreme Court issues a verdict.
 
Attorney representing former NP Minister B. Deniswaran informed the court that the Supreme Court has not issued an order to suspend the hearing of the case.Hence, the Court of Appeal has no obstruction to hear the Contempt of Court charges against Chief Minister Wigneswaran and the two other provincial ministers, the attorneys representing B. Deniswaran have further mentioned.

When the case was taken up before a two-member judge bench comprising Justices Kumudini Wickramasinghe and Janak De Silva, the attorneys representing C.V. Wigneswaran and the other two NP ministers informed the court that a hearing regarding the case is scheduled to be taken up before the Supreme Court on September 28.
 
Considering the submissions, the Court of Appeal decided to reject the request sought by the attorneys representing Wigneswaran.
 
Subsequently, they presented preliminary objections against the decision of the Court of Appeal, claiming that it has no authority to hear the Contempt of Court case.

Accordingly, the hearing of the preliminary objections was taken up before the court and further hearing of the objections was postponed to October 16.
 
Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal extended the interim order, halting the decision of Chief Minister Wigneswaran to remove former NP Minister B. Deniswaran from his ministerial portfolio until October 17.(Derana)

Central Bank has taken a far reaching initiative in creating awareness on it services and activities among the people and school children countrywide while providing and easy access to banks’ services.    
 
An Open Day programme aimed at providing easy access to Central Bank services for school children and people of the Rajarata and Wayamba regions, and creating awareness about its  activities is to be held on 21st and 22nd September 2018 at the Central Bank Anuradhapura Regional Office premises and the Public Grounds (Salgado) Anuradhapura.
 
The programme will be held from 9.00am to 7.00pm and the public will get the opportunity of resolving EPF related issues and obtaining information about small and medium enterprise credit schemes and related services, CB said in a statement.
 
 A currency exchange facility to exchange damaged notes and obtain coins will also take place.

Several awareness programmes and workshops aimed at educating the public on the current financial environment and financial literacy are also to be held at this event, including providing the services of the Credit Information Bureau (CRIB) and Credit Counselling Centre.
 
Participants will be able to pay a visit to the currency museum at the Regional Office, Anuradhapura and be able to purchase Central Bank publications at a discount of 25 percent .

Apart from providing central banking services, the Open Day programme will also feature product stalls of small and medium enterprises.
 

Four elephants were killed when they were hit by a fuel tanker train coming from Kolonnawa to Batticaloa on Tuesday morning in north central Sri Lanka. 

Railways department officials said that the train had collided with a herd of elephants crossing the Colombo-Gal Oya railway line near the 127 mile post in Puwakpitiya, Habarana at around 4 am today (18).

The collision has derailed the train engine and the damage to the railway tracks has forced the railways department to cease the Batticaloa-Trincomalee train service.