The Sangupitti Bridge connecting Karaitivu in Jaffna and Pooneryn on the a-32 Jaffna highway will be vested in the public at this week end.

The bridge connects Karaitivu and the Pooneryn jetty which reduces three hours in travelling time and 120 kms in distance to reach Jaffna from Colombo.

The A-32 road via Puttalam and... Mannar will be the shortest route to Jaffna from Colombo with the opening of the Sangupitti Bridge.This will benefit the people along the A-32 road which was heavily affected by LTTE terrorism.

The construction of the 288 meter long, two-way Bridge was completed in eight months.

The Government funded the project with a soft loan of Rs 800 million from the United Kingdom.

Sri Lankan engineers completed the foundation of the bridge.People in Jaffna say that the bridge is a Thaipongal gift from the Government.

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nice but it looks a bit narrow!

i presume its only a 2 lane bridge, but then again road traffic isnt that high enough to build a bigger bridge id think

Possibly another bridge can be build parallel to the excising one and make it a one way traffic.

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nice but it looks a bit narrow!

Really cool to see!

http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/4203/jaffna.jpg

http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/4203/jaffna.jpg


thanks, amal i think this is the shortest path [road] to jaffna

thanks, amal i think this is the shortest path [road] to jaffna

The Sangupiddy Bridge that connects the A-32 road from Mannar to Jaffna across the lagoon is the shortest land route to Jaffna from Colombo. The distance of travelling to Jaffna will be cut by 120 kilometers when compared to the way through the main A-9 Jaffna-Kandy Highway. It will also be possible to cut the traveling time by three hours. The bridge is also expected to assist the reconstruction and future development of areas in the North.

Bridge of peace and hope

by Ananth PALAKIDNAR

January 16 turned out to be a historic day for the people of Jaffna as their long-time dream became a reality with the opening of the new bridge between Sangupiddy in Pooneryn and Kerathivu in Navatkuli.

The bridge on the lagoon between Kerathivu and Sangupiddy is 288 metres in length and 7.1 metres in width. Construction had cost Rs 1,037 million.

Initiatives to link the Jaffna mainland with the North-Western coastal region via Pooneryn were taken way back in the late 1930s. The engineering genius Mahadeva, who was the brainchild behind building the Elephant Pass causeway, had first worked out a plan to connect Sangupiddy in Jaffna and Kerathivu in Pooneryn by constructing a causeway in the shallow lagoon waters. However, the plan did not materialise due to protests from the fisherfolk in the area and producers of salt in Elephant Pass.

The protests surfaced on the basis that fishing would be affected due to the stagnation of salt water and as far as the salterns were concerned, the production of salt in Elephant Pass would be hampered as a result of less water flow from the lagoon to the salterns which had a good harvest of salt throughout the year.

On the other hand, the importance of connecting Pooneryn with the Jaffna mainland via the Kerathivu and Sangupiddy Lagoon (which is the mouth of the Elephant Pass lagoon) was felt as many people from Jaffna had their paddy and coconut cultivations in Pooneryn. The variety of rice known as 'Mottaikaruppan' was popular among the people in Jaffna and was cultivated in Pooneryn on a large scale before the three decades of disturbances in the North.

The Northerners who had their paddy lands in Pooneryn brought their harvest to the Jaffna mainland from Pooneryn to Colombuthurai port by boat. The sailing between Pooneryn and Jaffna remained arduous and time-consuming.

In the 1950s attempts were made to reduce the distance between Sangupiddy in Pooneryn and Kerathivuin Navatkuli, Jaffna by filling the shallow lagoon with limestones which are found in plenty in the Valikamam region in the North. But, despite efforts by various quarters, the bridging of Pooneryn and the Jaffna mainland remained a distant dream for the people of Jaffna.

According to former Vice Chancellor of the University of Jaffna, Professor P. Balasundarampillai, the new flyover bridge above the Sangupiddy and Kerathivu Lagoon is extremely significant as the bridge did not merely link the Jaffna mainland with Pooneryn in the North Western region.

"The 288-metre flyover bridge will serve in a big way in enhancing the socio-economic aspects between the North and the South. The new bridge has reduced the distance between Colombo and Jaffna along the western coastal belt by 110 km. It has also paved the way for an alternative route between the North and the South, apart from the A-9 highway.

FULL STORY: http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2011/01/23/spe01.asp

No bombs, only boom
Published : 12:00 am May 23, 2011 | No comments so far |
Unprecedented public investments to boost North and East GDP exponentially in next five years says CB Chief

Aided by billions of investments largely by the Government and growing engagement by private sector, the once war-torn North and East is expected to produce exponential growth from 2011 onwards, a top Government official said on Friday.
Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said a range of high investments via the public investment programme as well as by the private sector along with the overall resilience of the people of the North and East will grow by 13% per annum in the next five years.


He said that the initial signs of the turnaround were evident in 2009 when North and East’s growth rates amounted to 14% from a lower base but from 2011 onwards a high 13% growth per annum is envisioned.
In parallel contribution to country’s GDP growth from these two provinces is expected to increase substantially as well. In 2009 North’s contribution was 3.3% up from 2.8% in 2006 whilst that of the East was 5.8% up from 4.9%.
Cabraal said 2010 data was being firmed up and would be released later in the year.
“There is a clear drive towards holistic development in the North and the East to ensure that people sustain their economic achievements and translate them into a way of life. We expect that the range of investments made in these Provinces will result in a growth rate of around 13% per annum in these provinces, from 2011 onwards for the next 5 years,” the Governor said presenting the Central Bank’s 60th anniversary oration titled “Promoting Financial Inclusiveness in the North & the East – The Experience of the Past Two Years.”
“The two provinces have demonstrated a major appetite for economic activity,” the Governor said pointing to the unprecedented increase in the number of bank branches (see box story) opened as a reflection of the rebound in the economic activities in the North and East.
He said that in the Eastern Province alone, which was liberated earlier than the North, Rs. 116 billion had been invested — in economic infrastructure (Rs. 94 billion), Resettlement (Rs. 12.2 billion), social infrastructure (Rs. 5.6 billion) and productive sector support (Rs. 4 billion).
For 2011, Rs. 26.6 billion had been earmarked under the public investment and social development programme with bulk of it (Rs. 12.3 billion) going for national, provincial and rural roads in the East.
Commenting on the Northern emphasis, Central Bank Chief said Rs. 251.5 billion has been planned for 2011 and 2013 with Rs. 150 billion assigned for improving social economic infrastructure, Rs. 39 billion for human settlement development and Rs. 25 billion and Rs. 24 billion each for strengthening of social infrastructure cum fostering social services and revitalisation of productive sectors. The allocation for 2011 under the medium-term programme is Rs. 51 billion with bulk (Rs. 20 billion) going for national, provincial and rural roads in the North.
Earlier on his address the Governor said that the Government spent about Rs. 605 billion or US$ 5.5 billion (around 4% of its GDP per annum) between 2006 and 2009 on the fight against terrorism. Highlighting various national socio-economic achievements, Cabraal said “these benefits would clearly indicate that the modest investment on defence paid off.”
He also said that out of the 342,916 IDPs in 30 relief villages in May 2009, the number had rapidly declined with the resettlement of the IDPs and as of May 2011, there were only 18,012 IDPs in the relief villages.
This he said was a “huge investment was made by the Government to achieve this outcome.”
The Governor also said that the Government provided a satisfactory enabling environment to facilitate economic activities in North and East as well. He also listed various initiatives as part of the Government’s and Central Bank’s financial inclusiveness strategy.
“The private sector, both formal and informal, have responded very well and continue to respond,” he added.
“The success over the past 2 years has been extraordinary and we clearly surprised the world, but that is because, we prepared for the post-war period, before the war ended, we worked to the plan and we displayed deep commitment,” Governor Cabraal said.
“However, in my view, this is only the beginning. There are huge benefits the entire country, including the North and the East can look forward to, with the contribution expected from the North and the East,” he added.


Brisk Banking; Nearly
60 units opened in North; Over Rs. 7 b lent in NE

NEARLY 60 new banking units have been set up in the Northern Province post-war increasing the number of points for financial services to nearly 600 in the former conflict-torn areas including the Eastern Province.
Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said on Friday that since the end of the war in May 2009, 37 new fully-fledged bank branches had been opened in the Northern Province in addition to 22 extension offices. This growing presence of banking had brought the total of bank branches in the North and East to 228 in addition to 111 service points or extension offices and 187 ATMs.
He also said that since the end of the war, over Rs. 7 billion had been lent on a fast track basis by all financial institutions in the North and East under various support schemes.
In the North, slightly over 38,000 loans worth Rs. 4.09 billion had been disbursed whilst the figures for the East were 26,000 loans worth Rs. 2.1 billion. Under micro scale support for Self-Help Groups (SHGs) there had been nearly 15,000 loans worth Rs. 670 million disbursed. The number of SHGs currently is 10,390 with 52,000 people registered with participating financial institutions.
“The expected natural growth of bank branch networks is a clear indicator of the expected economic growth in these regions,” the Central Bank Chief emphasised. He said that the North and East have immensely benefited by the 2:1 rule in branch opening that requests commercial banks to open two branches outside the Western Province for every branch they open in the commercially developed Western Province.

New headquarters for Sri Lanka's Petroleum Corporation, more fuel stations in NorthThu, Aug 18, 2011, 10:47 am SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.


Aug 18, Colombo: Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa will declare open the new headquarters of Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) tomorrow.

The new headquarters, named as Ceypetco House is constructed at a cost of Rs. 2 billion in a land CPC had purchased at a bank auction. The 109-perch land was purchased by CPC for Rs. 85 million.

The previous Minister of Petroleum A.H.M. Fowzie has initiated the construction of the CPC headquarters.

The CPC currently pays a staggering 4 million rupees as monthly rent for its building in Rotunda Gardens.

Meanwhile the CPC announced that it will set up 17 more petrol filling stations in the Northern Province within the next five months.

Accordingly, 6 filling stations in Mullaitivu district, 4 in Jaffna, 4 in Kilinochchi, 2 in Mannar and one in Vavuniya will be constructed, the Petroleum Industries Ministry said.

The Ministry said fully-fledged filling stations will be available in the Northern Province to assure uninterrupted fuel delivery to the Province.

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India to construct a cultural center in Sri Lanka's Tamil heartland of Jaffna
Wed, Jan 18, 2012, 11:49 am SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.


Jan 18, Colombo: As part of its development partnership with Sri Lanka and in response to the request by the Government of Sri Lanka, the Government of India is undertaking a project to construct a Cultural Centre at Jaffna at an estimated cost of Rs. 900 million.

In a ceremony held Tuesday, India's Minister for External Affairs S. M. Krishna and Sri Lankan Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa presented awards to the top three designs submitted by architects whose entries were selected by a jury after the completion of the National Design Competition for the Jaffna Cultural Centre.

The awards involve a prize amount of US$ 3,500 for the 1st prize, US$ 3,000 for the 2nd prize and US$ 2,500 for the third.

The Jury has unanimously selected the design submitted by Architect Madura Premathileka as the first place design, the design submitted by Cynthia & Athula Ranasinghe Chartered Architects as the second and the design submitted by Design Consortium (Pvt) Ltd. as the third.

The first place winner presented his design before the Indian and Sri Lankan ministers at the ceremony on Tuesday.





India has undertaken the project to preserve and foster the rich cultural heritage of the Jaffna District and other nearby areas, which are replete with historical, archeological and religious resources.

"It is decided to develop the Jaffna Cultural Centre as an iconic building that would serve as a cynosure of cultural activities in Northern Sri Lanka," the Indian High commission said in a statement.

The Centre is also intended to create opportunities for cooperation amongst all Sri Lankan communities, including Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese.

The primary purpose of the Jaffna Cultural Centre would be to provide a cultural and social space for the people of Jaffna to enjoy various local and international cultural products, apart from serving as a delivery centre for training, instructions and education in a variety of cultural disciplines. For these purposes, the Centre would comprise a theatre-style auditorium (with projection facilities) with a capacity of about 600 people, a multimedia library with on-line research facilities, exhibition and gallery space and a museum. It would also have an instructional wing, which would have facilities for the conduct of classes in vocal and instrumental music, dance and languages, including a language lab. It would also be able to serve as a hub for civil society activities, for which purpose it would include a conference hall-cum-seminar room.

Both governments have jointly decided to conduct a National Design Competition in order to select the best design for the Cultural Centre that would take these requirements into account.

The Sri Lanka Institute of Architects (SLIA) was entrusted with the task of conducting the National Design Competition in two separate rounds.

A seven-member jury, co-chaired by High Commissioner of India Ashok K. Kantha, and President of SLIA Ranjan Nadesapalli, one architect each from SLIA and India, one representative each from the governments of India and Sri Lanka, and the Mayor of Jaffna evaluated the entries received during the National Design Competition. The entries were evaluated by the jury without the knowledge of the architects, through a process of assigning code numbers to each entry.

During the first round of the design competition, the jury shortlisted eight designs for the second round of competition out of 29 designs it received. The evaluation of these eight entries was based on a number of carefully identified criteria such as the technical acceptability, context plan, aesthetic / architectural language, space efficiency, buildabillity and environmentally friendly, sustainable architecture.

At the end of the process, the Jury unanimously selected the best three designs.

This Project is one of the many initiatives taken by the Indian government to assist the people of Sri Lanka.

It will be implemented under grant assistance from the Government of India with the cooperation of the Ministry for Economic Development and the local Government.

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<a href="http://s956.photobucket.com/albums/ae42/FazilLanka/?action=view&amp;current=JCCDesign_m1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i956.photobucket.com/albums/ae42/FazilLanka/JCCDesign_m1.jpg" border="0" alt="Jaffna New Cultural Center"></a>

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Jaffna's first skyscraper?

http://med.gov.lk/english/wp-content/gallery/2012-01-18-jaffna-cultural-center/001.jpg

Really good article on the state of things in the North...http://business-standard.com/india/news/once-tiger-territory/462402/

Sri Lanka- Jaffna gets a 15 storied Star Class hotel
Published on Thursday, 02 February 2012 13:18 Hits: 313 .. .The rapidly developing Northern Province following the defeat of terrorism has become a springboard for local and foreign investors seeking investment opportunities in Sri Lanka. Construction of a 70-room, 15 storied star class hotel in the heart of Jaffna will be launched tomorrow. Mercantile Merchant Bank Ltd, and the Jetwing Group through an equally-owned joint venture will invest Rs. 700 million on this hotel project.



Launching of the construction will be jointly officiated by Prime Minister D.M Jayaratne and the Minister of Economic Development Mr. Basil Rajapaksa.



The hotel named Yarl Jetwing will be constructed on a 50 perch land area on the Old Clock Tower Road, in Jaffna. Designed by Design Group 5, the hotel will have a roof top swimming pool and a Presidential Suite and the construction work is to be completed within 18 months.



The location of the hotel will be adjacent to Rs. 500 million new shopping and entertainment complex being built by Cargills (Ceylon) Plc.



The new Cargills shopping complex of 4 floors with a total floor area of 74,000 sq ft would comprise of retail/shopping space, a bank, a food court, a Cineplex with three cinema screens and a basement car park. The construction work of this complex is to be completed by mid-2013.


Meanwhile, the MMBL is also implementing several other eco tourism projects in Delft Island in partnership with several other companies.(niz)

(www.news.lk)

Sri Lanka- Jaffna gets a 15 storied Star Class hotel
Published on Thursday, 02 February 2012 13:18 Hits: 313 .. .The rapidly developing Northern Province following the defeat of terrorism has become a springboard for local and foreign investors seeking investment opportunities in Sri Lanka. Construction of a 70-room, 15 storied star class hotel in the heart of Jaffna will be launched tomorrow. Mercantile Merchant Bank Ltd, and the Jetwing Group through an equally-owned joint venture will invest Rs. 700 million on this hotel project.



Launching of the construction will be jointly officiated by Prime Minister D.M Jayaratne and the Minister of Economic Development Mr. Basil Rajapaksa.



The hotel named Yarl Jetwing will be constructed on a 50 perch land area on the Old Clock Tower Road, in Jaffna. Designed by Design Group 5, the hotel will have a roof top swimming pool and a Presidential Suite and the construction work is to be completed within 18 months.



The location of the hotel will be adjacent to Rs. 500 million new shopping and entertainment complex being built by Cargills (Ceylon) Plc.



The new Cargills shopping complex of 4 floors with a total floor area of 74,000 sq ft would comprise of retail/shopping space, a bank, a food court, a Cineplex with three cinema screens and a basement car park. The construction work of this complex is to be completed by mid-2013.


Meanwhile, the MMBL is also implementing several other eco tourism projects in Delft Island in partnership with several other companies.(niz)

(www.news.lk)

great news.

http://med.gov.lk/english/wp-content/gallery/2012-02-03-jetwing-yarl-hotel-at-jaffna/3d-image-yarl-hotel.jpg
http://med.gov.lk/english/wp-content/gallery/2012-02-03-jetwing-yarl-hotel-at-jaffna/yarl-hotel-04.jpg


The Ministry of Economic Development (http://med.gov.lk/english/?p=10364#)

http://med.gov.lk/english/wp-content/gallery/2012-02-03-jetwing-yarl-hotel-at-jaffna/3d-image-yarl-hotel.jpg
http://med.gov.lk/english/wp-content/gallery/2012-02-03-jetwing-yarl-hotel-at-jaffna/yarl-hotel-04.jpg


The Ministry of Economic Development (http://med.gov.lk/english/?p=10364#)



What is this design ???

What is this design ???

what do mean?

Not the nicest design to be honest... the first four floors are going to be a car park? Maybe it was too expensive to have them underground...

Not the nicest design to be honest... the first four floors are going to be a car park? Maybe it was too expensive to have them underground...

This is actually pretty good for jaffna at the moment. Its probably gonna be empty for most of the time. Hotels there dont do well:ohno:.

Not the nicest design to be honest... the first four floors are going to be a car park? Maybe it was too expensive to have them underground...

Not really. The land around that is extremely swampy with high water table level so basement would always flood. That's why they have put them above. Not an uncommon design here in Singapore.

How can I say that? I am an architect who was born in Jaffna and who worked there for a few years so I am familiar withe place and geology.