If you were in charge...

[phil.froelich]

I don't wish to be rude Dollar Man, but I think you have misunderstood what we mean by GDP...You are right when you say that Sri Lanka's GDP per capita is twice that of India, but our economy (GDP) is a mere 32 Billion USD large, whereas India's is one of the largest in the World...personally, I find it unethical to even think about launching a space programme, when the country is still struggling with a multitude of social and economic issues...Sri Lanka still has rampant poverty and poor infrastructure...though decent healthcare and education are available to the predominantly impoverished masses, these systems still have vast room for improvement...the industries in Sri Lanka are still very susceptible to both domestic and international pressure and I can tell you from first hand experience that this is the case, because my family is involved in retail and most businesses are hurting at the moment...I believe the development of infrastructure in the form of: expressways, roads, airport development, port development, hospitals, schools, social security etc., is an imperative and these things should take priority to other, far less important ventures...I also strongly disagree with your common currency/economy views as these defy our nation's sovereignity and ability to develop...I think Sri Lanka has good growth and development opportunities, because if things are done properly a lot can be done within a short period of time, due to us only having 20 million inhabitants, compared to India's 1.1 BILLION people...I find it humorous when people like yourself propose such short-sighted and overly simplistic, naive budgets or plans in general...governance is a vast topic/subject and one needs to consider an amazingly huge array of factors to make the best, most responsible decisions...

[Dollar_man]

Originally Posted by phil.froelich

I don't wish to be rude Dollar Man, but I think you have misunderstood what we mean by GDP...You are right when you say that Sri Lanka's GDP per capita is twice that of India, but our economy (GDP) is a mere 32 Billion USD large, whereas India's is one of the largest in the World...personally, I find it unethical to even think about launching a space programme, when the country is still struggling with a multitude of social and economic issues...Sri Lanka still has rampant poverty and poor infrastructure...though decent healthcare and education are available to the predominantly impoverished masses, these systems still have vast room for improvement...the industries in Sri Lanka are still very susceptible to both domestic and international pressure and I can tell you from first hand experience that this is the case, because my family is involved in retail and most businesses are hurting at the moment...I believe the development of infrastructure in the form of: expressways, roads, airport development, port development, hospitals, schools, social security etc., is an imperative and these things should take priority to other, far less important ventures...I also strongly disagree with your common currency/economy views as these defy our nation's sovereignity and ability to develop...I think Sri Lanka has good growth and development opportunities, because if things are done properly a lot can be done within a short period of time, due to us only having 20 million inhabitants, compared to India's 1.1 BILLION people...I find it humorous when people like yourself propose such short-sighted and overly simplistic, naive budgets or plans in general...governance is a vast topic/subject and one needs to consider an amazingly huge array of factors to make the best, most responsible decisions...

Sri lanka econmany is actually 42+ billion norminal and about 100 billion PPP.
india's econmany is not at all one of the largest. it does'nt make the top 10 list. its top 15th biggest.

But i do understand what you saying the GDP as a whole is bigger in india, yet with such a small per capita GDP it manages to have a space programme. thats my point in having a single econmany and single military. it is much more effective, we gain so much out come from having a single military with india. we are spending about 10 times what india's is spending on defence per citizen yet we dont have nuclear weopons or any sort of self made air defence systme, or any aircraft carriers.

by a having a single defence force, we would have even stronger military for both india and sri lanka.

I would like to point out that your right about turning the whole econmany around overnight compared to time it takes for bigger econmanies to get deveped say 50 years.
sri lanka could be devepled in a couple of years due its small population but it all comes down to GDP growth rates. sri lanka as a small nation should be able to achive 30-40% growth rates if it targeted investment wisely. but even with a small population we growing at roughly the same right as a india a major econmany. around 6-10%
so i dont see why you think this would effect us?
when you speak of sovereignity, we still hold this, and we would be stronger.

[dramirez]

I think this topic of conversation is more suited to the Economy thread guys?

[Dollar_man]

Originally Posted by dramirez

I think this topic of conversation is more suited to the Economy thread guys?

yes i agree
this was going way off the telecome industry, i normaly dont like to spam these threads with disscution. it makes noise among new roads to be made/ news.
thats why i hardly vist the aviation thread, its just disscuation

[dramirez]

I believe discussion is what a forum is for. Otherwise it would just be a pasting of news clippings.

[TallBox]

Dollarman,

I agree with you insofar as that money could be better spent. But no, I don’t agree with your budget – to be honest, I think it’s crazy. But, on the plus side, I agree with some of your comments (e.g. the military needs to be smaller, and that we should stop the brain drain from SL).

You say we should split (not even ‘focus’!) the budget on three sectors, only one of which I agree with (infrastructure). The rest are defence and space.

Here’s why we don’t need to spend so much on defence:

• the war is over, having a massive army under arms is wasteful
• having so many people under arms could cause all kinds of social problems (what happens when people who have been in the army, knowing only one trade, and with access to weapons retire?)
• Sri Lanka is a small country, not a major regional power

I do think a strong military is important, please read my Defence section.

Here’s why we don’t need to spend to much on space:

• Sri Lanka is a small, relatively poor country (GDP per capita is a useless measure because capital investment is what counts)
• a major reason for space exploration is to find new technologies/materials that can be used on Earth – there are many more parties experienced in making new technologies commercially viable than Sri Lanka.

We need to walk before we can run.

This is my plan, which may or may not be achieveable within the current budget, and will take at least 15-20 years to fully realise.

GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT – MANAGEMENT

Census – 4 years, $1 billion
Before we charge into building new superhighways etc, we need an accurate idea of the state of the island.

We need robust data on where people live, how many in their household, their age, occupation, income etc. This will enable us to plan projects more accurately – e.g. there is a new port being built in Hambantota... we need to know statistics like how many working age (18-50 years old) men there are within 10 miles, say or how many doctors there are in the adjacent district etc.

We need to map population centres, road networks, small businesses and kades etc. This will be collected by postal district, and checked against the ID card to see whether that person has registered himself and his family. Once collected, it will be stored on a large database to allow easy data analysis and this will be transferred to some geo-mapping technology so that you can easily see for example, population density of single working women below 35 (or some other obscure statistic):



The major benefit from this exercise will be that it will be very much easier to recover taxes from people and small businesses if they have a house that is registered on a map. This should enable a frequent and accurate collection of taxes in order to sustain the economy.

Land rights
The next thing to do, and as part of this census, is to define every postal district assigning a new postal/zip code (you need an effective postal service to run an economy). Every street/lane shall have a single name registered (how annoying is it that when you are finding directions to somewhere, it’s name has either changed or there is a misspell??!) – but of course people will be free to use locally and well-known names as they please. This is simply to ensure that post gets delivered to the correct address. Every house shall be numbered, and every flat sub-numbered.

The intent is that you can eventually send a letter from anywhere in the world with only the house/flat number and the postcode and it will reach its destination, e.g. 17/35, 90210 Sri Lanka.

Now that we have a detailed picture of the political geography of Sri Lanka (roads etc), I would get a commercial company who deals with geo-spatial mapping, to create a GPS picture of the whole island. This will have many benefits for commercial reasons as well as for the individual (as the people get richer, can buy cars etc).

Cutting bureaucracy
Okay, once we understand where people are, and what they do, and how much they earn, this should identify some wasteful areas in Government departments. Where there is genuine waste (e.g. overpaid middle/senior management) then they should go. I am not necessarily talking about the people lower down. A mass implementation of computing and IT will be rolled into service and a major task will be to convert many paper documents into electronic format (will probably take 3-4 years).

PUBLIC SERVICES

Emergency services
With our detailed political map of Sri Lanka, an emergency services organisation should be created by province to provide civil emergency relief in the areas of:

• Police
• Fire
• Ambulance
• Coastal rescue/lifeguard – (this is different to the Coast Guard by the way, the Coastal Lifeguard deals with stray swimmers, fisherman boats that get lost a few miles off land etc)

Access to these services will be through a single number (probably 119 or 999) with English/Sinhala and Tamil speakers available. Using GPS, repaired/upgraded roads (see road infrastructure) and a new fleet of vehicles (see the relevant investment areas), the Police, Ambulance and Fire should be able to be on-scene within 10 minutes of a call in a city, and within 45 minutes of a call in the jungle.

A squadron of say, 11, multi-role emergency services helicopters (operated by civilian Lanka Hospitals) should be put into service. This will be like the HEMS air ambulance in London:


Having eleven helicopters, (2 in Western Province, 2 in Central Province) will ensure that emergency medical attention can be delivered across the island rapidly. Key hospitals will be fitted with helipads or space in a car park for disembarkation of patients from the helicopters.

Police
Okay, so now we have a unified civil emergency structure, let’s focus on the Police. The first thing is that they jurisdiction of the Police should move out of the Ministry of Defence and into the Ministry of Home Affairs. This will aid in the demilitarization of Sri Lanka and greater respect for civil law. An assessment should be carried out on all officers, looking at corruption. IGPs should be elected for 4 year terms by the local people in that police district, and should be accountable to them as well as the Provincial Councils.

Police should undergo retraining to stamp out any corruption (e.g. taking bribes, involvement in local politics, collusion with criminals etc) and will be trained to exercise their powers within the clear rules of law and order (i.e. maintain law and order, rather than pass judgment), and begin language training for officers in the first five years of their career (to become fluent in two languages out of English, Sinhala and Tamil). Furthermore, senior police officers should be banned from being members of political parties. Once this occurs, recruitment should take the Police force numbers to 120,000 islandwide (based on 1 policeman for every 175 people, as in Western practice).

For recruitment, the Police should have a two-tiered approach, recruiting lower ranks from school (O Level) leavers, and for immediate entry into higher ranks for graduates. This will ensure the creation of a graduate-class of police officer to implement best management practices etc. Officers should be recruited from their local district so that the Police force is local to the area, and understands the people there, and speaks the same language too. This provides better community intelligence and local trust of the police.

Police uniforms should be redesigned for more flexibility in urban and semi-urban operations e.g. by using grey cargo pants, giving a slightly more military look (I don’t want them to look too military though – a clear distinction needs to be made that they are a civil police force).

Other equipment should be looked at – over 5 years or so, and a firearms amnesty across the country, the Police should be armed only with batons and CS gas, with only special units being equipped with firearms (MP5s instead of AK47s).

A huge investment in vehicles should be made for the police with the main vehicle being something flexible like this for off-road patrols. There should be one vehicle for every seven officers, so 2,000 Ford Rangers across the country:
image hosted on flickr


Special units such as the following should also exist:

• Diplomatic Protection Group – armed officers to protect certain high-level ministers
• Special Task Force – they should be demobilised from a paramilitary group (perhaps those who want to take part in special military ops could join the military) and made into more of a SWAT-style unit to undertake specific counter-terrorism missions e.g. hostage rescue etc
• Sri Lanka Ports Security – armed Police officers to guard and patrol key ports etc Katunayake Airport, Hambantota Port etc
• CID – officers to investigate organised crime (e.g. human trafficking, gangs etc), serious crime, corruption and racketeering
• Narcotics and Firearms Enforcement Agency

And of course, the Colombo Metropolitan Police Department (CMPD) should be the largest police force in the country but all should have access to the 11 emergency service helicopters.

Benefits should be given to officers, such as police housing in certain areas – these can drastically reduce crime, and access to gyms, sports clubs, discount vouchers for stores (if companies agree) etc.

Healthcare
Sri Lanka is actually pretty good in terms of health, but coverage needs to be widened. There needs to be more hospitals and these need to be kept to a higher standard. Drugs can prove expensive and a significant part of the health budget, so Sri Lanka should explore with India and Pakistan, safe locally-produced drugs that cost a lot to buy in the West.

So while money should be thrown at facilities, it should also be thrown as personnel. Nurses and doctors need investment – in their education and training, and then need to be retained. Salaries should be increased across the board and more formal qualifications for nurses should be offered. In the short term, medical staff should be imported for 4 year working visas from India, Malaysia, Philippines etc to help train local staff in sufficient numbers here.

Education
I see education as more than just a way of allowing people to become richer; I see educational institutions as vital to the soul of a nation. Places like Afghanistan, Somalia have little national identity because there are few civil structures in place (universities, schools, courts, professional institutions etc), whereas Iraq is slightly more successful because of this. Educational institutions can offer a place of objective, and democratic-minded thought even if the worst happens and an authoritarian political group comes into power; they can help steer the country through dark periods in the future.

As such, I think we need MASSIVE investment in education. Here’s what I’d do:

Nursery and kindergartens – I want every child to have access until the age of five. I think kids upto this age should focus on playing, developing relationships with other children, learning obedience, and have an enquiring mind so I don’t really want to impose a particular study syllabus on them. I leave it up to parents and kindergarten teachers to decide.

Primary/junior school – age 5-11 – I want kids to focus on learning English, Sinhala and Tamil. Big ask, I know. But at small ages, kids pick up languages easier and these will have benefits in later life where their brains use the same functions to pick up new things (e.g. music, algebra, computer languages etc). School should be situation-based learning which means that you learn practical things (so a maths lesson would be how to buy things from a shop etc, biology lesson will be about plants in the classroom and how/when they grow, geography about the seasons, climate and weather, and history about Sri Lanka’s history but also world history). IT should be introduced from a young age, and it should teach kids programs like word processing, excel, paint, internet, email etc etc. One computer for every six children will guarantee that every child gets 1 hour of computer tuition every day.

Secondary school – age 12-18 – This is where they start to develop their studies into more detail. IT at this point should be integrated into learning (so you would write your history essay on Word or Powerpoint, for example) so that it becomes second nature to them. At this point, kids I think can drop one of the three languages if they wish and replace with another foreign language (e.g. Hindi, French, Spanish, Mandarin) depending on the availability of teachers (I will make it easier for students from other countries to come and teach a language for a year). Furthermore, calculus must be introduced to students by the age of 16, and they must take local O Levels OR International Baccalaureate at this age, focusing on Maths, Science, Sinhala/Tamil/English/other foreign language, IT, History and Geography. Civics must also be taught which includes how the SL government works, the economy, who makes the laws etc.

Universities – age 18+ – Sri Lanka should invest heavily in its universities. Currently, there are 16 universities in Sri Lanka (below), and I think this is what should be done to improve them.

University of Colombo – this should be the biggest proper university, with a multi-campus facilities across Colombo and Western Province and offer a range of degrees from film studies to engineering to astrophysics to water pollution geography etc etc. I want this to become one of Sri Lanka’s top 3 universities, and I want to see it become a world Top 50 university.
University of Peradeniya – from what I have heard, this is probably the best-performing university in Sri Lanka. I want this to become Sri Lanka’s equivalent of Harvard and Oxford. I want this to become one of Sri Lanka’s top 3 universities, and I want to see it become a world Top 50 university.
University of Sri Jayewardenepura – this should be merged into University of Colombo
University of Kelaniya
University of Moratuwa – this should focus on mathematics, science and IT. I read recently that they won some international award for something. I want this to become one of Sri Lanka’s top 3 universities, and I want to see it become a world Top 50 university. Also my dad’s from Moratuwa
University of Jaffna – this should focus on medicine, dentistry and veterinary science
University of Ruhuna
Open University, Sri Lanka – this should be focused as the ‘mature students’ universities that offers a range of courses where people who are beyond university age can come and retrain in a range of courses
Eastern University of Sri Lanka
Rajarata University
Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka – disband
Uva Wellassa University - disband
Wayamba University of Sri Lanka – this university should focus on sports and sports science (so everything from sports journalism to sports medicine and physiology etc)
South Eastern University of Sri Lanka – I would merge this into Eastern University
University of the Visual & Performing Arts
Sir John Kotalawela Defence University – this should attract special investment as I want it to become the destination of choice for military officers and professionals in Asia. I would like to see Western military officials (e.g. Americans who have fought in Iraq/Afghanistan) be lecturers at the university

We should also add the following:
Sri Lanka North Eastern University – for the newly enfranchised Tamil-speaking Lankans (but anyone can apply)
Colombo Business School – I aim for this to be the top business school in South Asia (and top 20 worldwide), offering MBAs in management, marketing, finance etc and attracting students from India mainly and eventually compete with business schools in Singapore and China. It should be part of the University of Colombo. (How great would it be if one of the world’s top CEOs – the CEO of Siemens or TotalFinaElf was a graduate of Colombo Business School??!)

Whilst Sri Lankan universities are broadening the degrees that they offer, I want to push the mathematical, scientific and engineering universities (in my list, Moratuwa, Colombo and Peradeniya) into develop in a specific academic and industrial area. Why? Taiwan and South Korea emerged from very poor countries to become leaders in semiconductors – they invested in research and invested in applying research to industry and making money. Look where they are now. Sri Lanka should do the same. The area where I think Sri Lanka should focus is nanomaterials; I think there is huge growth opportunity in this industry – it can help develop tougher, stronger, more resilient materials which can be applied to every day use. E.g. a nanomaterial solar cell with a 70% efficiency invented, made and sold in Sri Lanka would be amazing. So too could nanomaterials which allow wings on aircraft to be lighter but carry the same weight – the cost savings for the airline industry would be massive. As a means to do this, I will spend money on these three universities to develop the academic excellence (import world-recognised staff, world-class facilities) with highly-paying research grants. These will be supported by pairing small companies to universities to allow them to put the benefits of nanomaterials on the market in a short amount of time.

So I want the universities to broaden their degrees and these should improve their research facilities which will help attract research grants, which will help attract the top international brains, which will produce world-recognised research, and will attract smarter students, which will produce better graduates, which will give Sri Lanka better importance. I think the aims of having three Top 50 world universities and one Top 20 world business school could be quite difficult but not impossible.

In order for Sri Lankan universities to be active in research, the academic disciplines need to be monitored by professional institutions. These are bodies like the Institute of Civil Engineers, or the Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers, or ASHRAE etc etc. These cross both professions and industry. We should increase funding for these institutions and allow a certain number to offer internationally-recognised ‘Chartered’ status – so like Chartered Engineer, or Chartered Surveyor, or Chartered Financial Analyst. More institutions should be set up for whichever discipline demands them; e.g. Institute of Hydrology, Institute of Pharmacology, Institute of Electronic Engineers etc.

This will help Sri Lankan-educated people to go abroad, but also bring foreign people in, and offer better opportunities for bright Sri Lankans and a professional environment in which to practice their work. This will help in stopping the brain drain out of Sri Lanka.

Overseas maids/labourers
These people are our biggest source of dollar reserves, yet they are treated like scum in their host countries. I will set up a union which maids and labourers can join before going abroad and will embody the conventions set up in the International Labour Organisation. Hopefully, because of development in Sri Lanka, fewer people will have to go abroad to earn a wage, but those that do go abroad should be protected from violence, unpaid work, lack of housing etc. The SL Government should retain the right to repatriate our maids and labourers working in the Middle East and countries which refuse to cooperate (usually the worst-treating ones like Saudi and Kuwait), barred from importing Sri Lankan labour. This is not a big deal to these countries as they could probably get labour equally easily from India/Bangladesh, and SL stands to lose some foreign reserves, but it is the right and honourable thing to do.

[TallBox]

DEFENCE
The Sri Lankan military should be unified. Why? Because I propose cutting the military to a much smaller size, with more money spent per soldier, which means it is more cost-effective to have one organisation rather than repeating three different command structures. I will model what I call the Sri Lankan Joint Forces (SLJF) on the US Marine Corps. The idea is that different aspects of the SLJF (offensive, defensive etc) will be focused into different branches, known as Commands:

• Strike Command (SC) – this will be the ‘tip of the spear’ of the SLJF armed with strike/fighters, expeditionary ships and attack helicopters etc
• Homeland Command (HC) – a smaller branch focusing on air-defence batteries, peacekeeping troops, small coastal patrol vessels etc
• Logistics Command (LC) – cargo aircraft, transport helicopters, trucks and lorries and cargo ships as well as all the bits that keeps a military sustained, e.g. signal squadrons, engineers, construction dozers, medical units etc
• Personnel and Training Command (PTC) – oversees the training and continuing improvement of the SLJF

Aircraft
By 2030, the SLJF should have the following aircraft:
48x F/A-18E/F Super Hornets (SC) – after peace in the island, the US relaxes their arms embargo and the SLJF procures 4 squadrons of naval fighter-bombers. They are based at Minneriya AB, Katukurunda AB, and China Bay AB. Would be great if we could get/afford F-35s but I doubt it.
4x Il-78 (LC) – large transport aircraft with inflight refuelling (IFR) based at Ratmalana AB
6x A400M (LC) – medium-large transport aircraft based at Ratmalana AB
12x CN-295 (LC) – short-ranged transport aircraft for theatre transports based at Anuradhapura AB
6x E-2D (SC) – these are AWACS aircraft. The US Navy uses them on their carriers to detect enemy aircraft and are important when conducting air operations. They will be the SLJF’s ‘eye in the sky’ providing radar coverage in hot spots. They will be based at Koggala AB
4x P-8i Poseidon (SC) – these are state-of-the-art maritime patrol aircraft and don’t come cheap. They patrol sea lanes and oceans using sensors and radar to track naval activity – this is especially useful and important for Sri Lanka which lies at the mouth of the Indian Ocean and all the activity that will go on there. I would buy another 8 if I thought the SLJF budget could afford it, but they are $260 million each. They are based at Koggala AB.
13x NFH90 (SC) – European-made Anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare helicopters. Again, this is important in maintaining Sri Lanka’s presence in the Indian Ocean and will be based at Koggala AB (you will note that Koggala AB on the south coast is now home to the SLJF’s intelligence, and sensor aircraft).
[bi]12x TTH90 (LC)[/i] – this is the land-based variant of the NFH90 and is used for transporting troops on the battlefield. These are especially capable in all-weather, day-or-night conditions, allowing SLJF soldiers to be mobile in all conditions.
18x Mi-17 (LC) – this is the bulk of the medium-lift helicopter force which is used for transporting upto 30 troops on the battlefield. Considerably cheaper than the TTH90 but not as capable.
64x HAL Dhruv (LC) – purchased from India, these are small helicopters, capable of carrying 8 fully equipped soldiers on the battlefield.
27x Mi-24 Crocodile (SC) – the Hind fleet in current service is upgraded and expanded to provide all-weather day/night capability. It attacks enemy troops and vehicles to support SLJF forces on the ground

Soldiers
By 2020, the SLJF should have the following battle formations:
1,000 men Special Forces Group – this is the legacy unit of the STF, Army Commandoes etc. They specialise in hostage rescue, unconventional warfare, deep reconnaissance, and raiding.
5,000 men Airborne Assault Regiment – this is a combination of former SLAF and Army paratroop formations. They specialise in parachute and helicopter-mounted insertion and mobility, and are heavily armed infantry.
5,000 men Marine Commandos (MACOs) – this is the heavily-armed infantry brigade that focuses on naval insertion, coastal raiding, helicopter-mounted maneouver, and anti-piracy at sea etc. They are often deployed on SLJF ships in the Indian Ocean.
5,000 men Sri Lanka Light Infantry – this is a heavily-armed infantry brigade focusing on supporting raiding, jungle and desert warfare.
5,000 men Gemunu Watch – infantry brigade.
5,000 men Gajaba Regiment – infantry brigade.
5,000 men Vijayabahu – infantry brigade.
5,000 men Sinha Regiment – infantry brigade.
5,000 men Rapid Reaction Brigade – mechanised infantry in the Stryker vehicle
5,000 men Western ‘Lion’ Brigade - mechanised infantry in the Stryker vehicle
5,000 men Northern ‘Tiger’ Brigade - mechanised infantry in the Stryker vehicle
5,000 men Central ‘Elephant’ Brigade - mechanised infantry in the Stryker vehicle
5,000 men Southern ‘Henakandya’ Brigade - mechanised infantry in the Stryker vehicle
5,000 men Eastern ‘Crocodile’ Brigade - mechanised infantry in the Stryker vehicle

Sub-total is 65,000 men (this includes all administrative, logistics staff within each regiment and brigade and excludes formations that fall under Homeland Command (which is another 10,000 men) and Logistics Command (another 35,000 men)). So the total is 110,000 men.

One brigade (5,000 men) plus supporting helicopters, aircraft etc should be available for deployment overseas within 30 days. This will be a fast/rapid reaction brigade, designed to undertake peacekeeping missions (mainly) but also combat operations if I commit the SLJF to an international coalition (e.g. Afghanistan) – more on that later.

The geographic brigades (Central, Easterm ,Western etc) are soldiers recruited from those regions, whereas the infantry brigades (Gemunu, Gajaba etc) are recruited from all over the island. Same for the AAR, MACOs and SLLI – which are all commando units btw.

Ships
By 2025, the SLJF should have the following ships in its fleet:
2x Enduance-class LPDs – these are ships that carry SLJF troops, vehicles and helicopters to war zones. The Republic of Singapore Navy operates the same vessels as well – so the ships could be built in Colombo/Hambantota but the expensive systems and weapons, for which we don’t have expertise could mean that the ships are towed to Singapore for fitting out.
4x La Fayette-class frigates – these are European-built ships that will allow the SLJF to patrol the Indian Ocean. Their primary armament are surface-to-air missiles, exocet launchers and a 76mm gun. They will also carry one of the 13 NFH90 anti-submarine helicopters.
4x Commandante-class corvettes – these are small patrol-type vessels built in Italy and are lightly armed. They will be license-built in Sri Lanka.
12x Armidale-class patrol boats – these are patrol boats designed for operations in rivers/waterways and around the coast of Sri Lanka. Among their main duties will be to ensure that fishermen are fishing where they should be, as well as coastal patrol duties. These will be license-built in Sri Lanka (I think Australia would agree as it would stop people smuggling, illegal trafficking, refugees leaving etc)
2x Small fleet replenishment ships - these carry diesel oil for ships to operate far away from Sri Lanka. They also have capacity for carrying extra food, ammunition, spare parts etc. They extend the reach of the SLJF.

Terms of use of the SLJF
As part of Sri Lanka’s foreign affairs, and the improvement in the military, I will enable the SLJF to deploy overseas 5,000 soldiers (supported by ships, aircraft, helicopters, transports etc) anywhere in the world in 30 days. A further 5,000 soldiers (+ support) should be deployable in 60 days. Our logistical capacity (things like number of spare parts for weapons and equipment, fuel availability, number of medical kits, ammunition etc) should be built to a size where it can support 10,000 soldiers for 90 days of continuous operations, or 5,000 soldiers for indefinite operation (on the scale of years).

Why should Sri Lanka get involved in any foreign wars? Good question. But under my presidency, after the country is recovered, I think we have an obligation to help other poor countries however we can, and often this will require intervening to stop two groups of people fighting and to enforce peace (ideally this will be backed by development assistance in the form of loans and investment). On other occasions, we may have something to gain from joining a, say, American-led invasion of somewhere (whether it is an economic or political benefit). A military strong Sri Lanka will be useful (from a political point of view – I’m not pretending that Sri Lanka is a big power) to any coalition and this buys us friends, and we’ll need those as India and China wrestle for control of the Indian Ocean. Examples of where I think SLJF could be committed (for either peace-keeping or war): Afghanistan, Balkans, Colombia, stopping East African pirates etc.


TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE

Sri Lankan Airlines
Sri Lankan Airlines should be part-privatised, and Emirates (or maybe Etihad??) brought back on board for a 49% ownership for the next 7 years. This will open-up codeshare routes as well as investment into the fleet. As Katunayake Airport is upgraded (see below), Sri Lankan Airlines should position itself as a reputable carrier and reclaim the reputation that we had a few years ago – this is achievable because we’ve already done it! The fleet, in the short term (next five years) should look something like this:
4x B777-200LR – for new routes into North America (Toronto, New York, Chicago, Washington). I know this is almost heresy suggesting Boeings in an otherwise all-Airbus fleet, but I just love these aircraft, and I think the capacity they could carry would be very useful into North America for connecting the Sri Lankan diaspora
6x A340-200 – to maintain routes into Europe
10x A330-200 – to maintain and expand routes in the Middle East, Asia and Australia (Sydney and Melbourne)
5x A320 – for the India/Pakistan sector

Over a longer period (~10 years), Sri Lankan Airlines (and I’ve grappled this idea, whether UL should be a long-haul or short-haul-based carrier), and I think the most opportunity is in the Indian sub-continent market. So UL, under the Govt’s and EK’s stewardship should invest in 12x A350s to connect these specific locations via Colombo: Male, Karachi, Bangalore, Bombay, Madras, Trivandrum, Tiruchirapalli, Calcutta, Lahore, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, KL, Bangkok, Delhi, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Hong Kong, Goa, Cochin, Madurai, Mauritius. Can you imagine this – you’re a pretty Western woman, newly married, and want to visit the Indian Ocean for your honeymoon? You fly from Europe into Colombo, and can hop from Goa to the Maldives, to the Seychelles to Mauritius on one airline. Or you’re a businessman in Dubai and need to get to Singapore – well, UL is another alternative.

A lot of this requires the goodwill of the Indian Government who may not want a non-Indian carrier competing with Deccan, and Kingfisher etc. If UL can play off Pakistan-India flights then it may benefit.

Airports
Katunayake International Airport (IATA: CMB, renamed from Bandaranaike International Airport) should be expanded.
Phase 1, 2008 – Upgrade of existing terminal (8-gate pier)
Phase 2, 2013 – Second runway (04/22, 3350m) and second terminal with 12-gate pier
Phase 3, 2015 – Third and fourth runways (09/27, 4000m)
Phase 4, 2018 – Third terminal with 20-gate pier each capable of handling 800 passengers for the A380. This will be designed by an international architect, probably in the style of Geoffrey Bawa to give a local identity – so natural ventilation, pond cooling, lots of plants. It will be financed from a large retail floor allowing standard chains like Starbucks, McDonalds, Costa, alongside local ones like Elephant House, Keels, and the Fab (I love the Fab) to sell. If possible, it would also be nice to get some high-class retail in their, like a Lexus show room, or a Mont Blanc department store etc etc.

These works will enable 40 aircraft to be connected via aero-bridges to the terminal and handle 35 million passengers a year (KUL has 46 aero-bridges and handles 25 million but has lots of space). The terminals will be connected by PRT after Phase 4 has been completed. Airport Garden Hotel will be expanded and upgraded too, probably sold to Oberoi or Taj Hotels.

Hambantota International Airport (IATA: HBT) will be designed as a cargo airport, primarily with some small capacity for passenger handling (<5 million pax/yr).

China Bay International Airport (IATA: TRR) will be the third international airport on the island, connected to China Bay AB. The runway will be lengthened to 3500m and a small terminal added. It will mainly handle aircraft sizes upto B737/A320-class, but because of the airbase the runway could handle larger aircraft if need be.

Railway Infrastructure
Now for a big one: I am going to start a major upgrade of the railway infrastructure. First of all, the railways will be privatised, probably to foreigners for terms of 20-25 years. This will give them the security of coughing up money for investment in track/station infrastructure, recover their money over 20/25 years and go home. Although the railway will be privatised, I will instruct an umbrella group the - Sri Lanka Railways – to oversee the coordination of maintenance, upgrades, fees, operating schedules etc. This means that you can buy a single ticket to go from Galle to Jaffna even if you are using several different railway networks. The railway infrastructure will be completely replaced with:

• electrification happening on all major tracks
• up-country tracks to be upgraded (if electrification is not feasible)
• wide-gauge railway lines to be connect Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Batticloa, Puttalam, Mannar (for connection to India), Anuradhapura, Vavuniya, Jaffna, Trincomalee, Katunayake, Hambantota. This will eventually allow high speed rail (HSR) links of 174mph (2025) and 186mph (2030) across the island, when it becomes affordable. For comparison, in Europe typically speeds on HSR routes are about 155mph, but will eventually be around 205mph
• upgrade to all the above stations providing travel information, integrated bus network and shelters, retail etc. Commercial developments such as offices and retail will be built around these rail terminii to improve connectivity across the country

Roads and Highways
80mph highways will be constructed as an orbital road around the coast of the country (a few miles inland of course), and with a east-west connection from Colombo to Trinco via Kandy. The highways, called ‘H-roads’ (H9, H25, H1 etc) will usually be three lanes wide on both sides, with a minimum speed of 60kph (i.e. no trishaws allowed). A major route will be Colombo-Katunayake, Colombo-Kandy, Colombo-Galle, Colombo-Jaffna, and Jaffna-Trinco.

Main roads in cities (like Baseline Road) will be called ‘A-roads’ and will be well-paved with two lanes either side and a permanent barrier dividing the two directions of traffic. Maximum speeds on these roads will be 50mph.

Highways (H-roads) and A-roads will be constructed by opening an international competition to tender. Ideally, Malaysian, Chinese, Korean or Japanese firms will be tasked with investing with these roads. In order to acquire skills and retain labour, a key criteria will be that 40% of the length of highways and 70% of A-roads are built by Sri Lankans. Hopefully then there will be enough experienced Sri Lankan foremen to oversee work in Sri Lanka and abroad. The catch is that the foreign companies get to charge tolls (probably Rs 100) on the H-roads for a period of 25 years. I know there is an argument that free roads should be a right, but there is no other way to finance such projects. Besides, all the smaller A- and B-roads will be upgraded anyway, capable of handling traffic at speeds that Sri Lankan motorists have never travelled at before.

Smaller roads will be called ‘B-roads’ and will be paved, usually one or more lanes either side, but with no permanent barrier dividing the two directions of traffic. Maximum speeds on these roads will be 30mph.

Then you have the smallest roads such as single-lane roads down lanes etc. These will be entirely repaved with asphalt and pavements for pedestrian traffic on either side. This will happen across the entire country.

It is not enough simply to construct or refurbish a road – they need maintenance and upkeep. A Sri Lankan Highways Agency (part of the Ministry of Ports and Transportation) will be set up to oversee scheduled maintenance of roads to pre-empt and replace potholes, malformations etc. This will be funded through a car tax where everyone buying a vehicle in Sri Lanka will have a portion of the tax paid going to fund road maintenance.

Other methods of traffic management are also necessary:

• Retrain drivers – Sri Lankan drivers are among the best and safest in the world. Not! Drivers will need to retrain. I’m not going to make this overly complicated like in the West, but drivers should at least know how to operate a car, how to control speed and not exceed the speed limit, how to respect other traffic (lane discipline), and how to obey directions (traffic lights etc). There will be several classes of driving license (as there is now): trishaw, standard car/van, bus, large lorry.
• More traffic directions – You can’t expect to run a country (e.g. if a business relies on a courier service) if there is a chance that the courier could get killed on the road! More directions are needed, such as ‘give way’ signs, lane discipline, traffic lights, pedestrian crosssings, speed limitations as well as route directions. This will reduce mortality on roads, ensure that people and goods can travel safely and quickly.

[TallBox]

More chapters to follow

[Cayman]

Jeez, you guys should go out (and get laid) more often

[TallBox]

Heh, I wrote it while at work

[Dollar_man]

Originally Posted by TallBox

Heh, I wrote it while at work

your ideas are absurd, they are like fantacy utopiea what will never work in real life.

defence spending should be high but with only around 8000 or so troops. high defence spendings with low troops count does'nt mean wastefull spending, it gives a boost to econmany as well, indirectly.
and it also enhanses forigen invesment, because if you have strong defence force, people wont be scard to put thier money in sri lanka. but there know sri lanka a strong defence force keep stability and defend the rupee.

you talk of capital investment needing a high GDP value, thats why i suggested to join india. but that does'nt mean if you join india u will see a high dencity of massive infrastructure projects around the country. becaues india GDP per capita is very low.
so that means if india gets a multi billion dollar pune expressway, that means have country goes without any roads or gravel. the GDP must be spread across the country, if allocated to one area that means less on the other.

so in the its GDP per capita that matters. however a high GDP value would give us greater power. the only advantage.

spending on education and healthcare is absurd, this is what is trully a stupid use of money.
people privation is bad, well spending on education and healthcare may look good on the outside but it will never work.
with privstion there will be more money in that industry, so the overall industry would better cater. we are talking about increacing the amount pie (GDP) that is there, not trying divide it into healthcare and education.

you guys are complete morons, u make me mad. without privistion this country will go no way.you will loose all the devepment that already exists in the country, in 50 years this country would become a shit hole slum like india.

or in the next 50 years we could have one of the world highest GDP capita, 50 years is a very long time, i did the calcuation. with proper mangment we could achieve the GDP growth potential of this country.

[TallBox]

Originally Posted by Dollar_man

your ideas are absurd, they are like fantacy utopiea what will never work in real life.

Oh and a Sri Lankan space agency to rival NASA isnt??

defence spending should be high but with only around 8000 or so troops. high defence spendings with low troops count does'nt mean wastefull spending, it gives a boost to econmany as well, indirectly.

Do you know anything about the military? Does 8000 troops include logistics, engineers, pilots, medics, caterers? What about their equipment? Can all 8000 troops pilot aircraft, drive tanks, fly in helicopters, and shoot rifles all at the same time? Have you thought about how your 8000 troops will be used? What happens when a third of them are injured? What do you do with ~5000?

and it also enhanses forigen invesment, because if you have strong defence force, people wont be scard to put thier money in sri lanka. but there know sri lanka a strong defence force keep stability and defend the rupee.

8000 isn’t a strong defence force.

you talk of capital investment needing a high GDP value, thats why i suggested to join india. but that does'nt mean if you join india u will see a high dencity of massive infrastructure projects around the country. becaues india GDP per capita is very low.
so that means if india gets a multi billion dollar pune expressway, that means have country goes without any roads or gravel. the GDP must be spread across the country, if allocated to one area that means less on the other.

So your idea is to sell Sri Lanka (by your own admission, a better-off country) to a poorer India? Hmmmm...

so in the its GDP per capita that matters. however a high GDP value would give us greater power. the only advantage.

You are stupid. Even if the average Sri Lankan has a $4500 GDP per capita, how do you improve the country? When you buy expensive things like your stupid flying-sailing-shooting army or your space agency, what are you going to do? Get everybody in the island to contribute Rs10,000 each? LOL. You need capital for capital spending.

spending on education and healthcare is absurd, this is what is trully a stupid use of money.

Umm yeah – good luck trying to build a space agency when your population can’t do basic sums, or don’t know what space is, and are dying.

Maybe you want everyone in the country to be as stupid as you.

people privation is bad, well spending on education and healthcare may look good on the outside but it will never work.
with privstion there will be more money in that industry, so the overall industry would better cater. we are talking about increacing the amount pie (GDP) that is there, not trying divide it into healthcare and education.

How are you going to increase GDP per capita when people are not educated enough to get jobs and are dying?

you guys are complete morons, u make me mad. without privistion this country will go no way.you will loose all the devepment that already exists in the country, in 50 years this country would become a shit hole slum like india.

Look, I tried to be nice and patient like other forumers did because I thought that maybe you were just a kid but now I see that you are batshit stupid with no understanding of the real world. So stop talking inane shit on the internet and let people with a brain discuss it.

or in the next 50 years we could have one of the world highest GDP capita, 50 years is a very long time, i did the calcuation. with proper mangment we could achieve the GDP growth potential of this country.

Your calculations are wrong. You are wrong.

[Dollar_man]

Originally Posted by TallBox

Oh and a Sri Lankan space agency to rival NASA isnt??



Do you know anything about the military? Does 8000 troops include logistics, engineers, pilots, medics, caterers? What about their equipment? Can all 8000 troops pilot aircraft, drive tanks, fly in helicopters, and shoot rifles all at the same time? Have you thought about how your 8000 troops will be used? What happens when a third of them are injured? What do you do with ~5000?



8000 isn’t a strong defence force.



So your idea is to sell Sri Lanka (by your own admission, a better-off country) to a poorer India? Hmmmm...



You are stupid. Even if the average Sri Lankan has a $4500 GDP per capita, how do you improve the country? When you buy expensive things like your stupid flying-sailing-shooting army or your space agency, what are you going to do? Get everybody in the island to contribute Rs10,000 each? LOL. You need capital for capital spending.



Umm yeah – good luck trying to build a space agency when your population can’t do basic sums, or don’t know what space is, and are dying.

Maybe you want everyone in the country to be as stupid as you.



How are you going to increase GDP per capita when people are not educated enough to get jobs and are dying?



Look, I tried to be nice and patient like other forumers did because I thought that maybe you were just a kid but now I see that you are batshit stupid with no understanding of the real world. So stop talking inane shit on the internet and let people with a brain discuss it.



Your calculations are wrong. You are wrong.

you ask me where i'm i going to get the capital. this is'nt made up money. this money already exist, its being spent by our goverment year in year out.

this is the national budget. this budget is increasing each year by about 10%.

u say, a population that cant do basic sums? a population that is dying. its your cliams that are absurd here.

privistion will get more money for sri lanka. maybe a few poor kids will miss out on education cos they make super high tech education facailites that only rich kids can go too. this sounds bad right?
but think about this india spending in real dollar figures currency exchange about 50 billion US a year on education abroad. if our privite education companines can tap into just half that money, thats half our econmany in a couple of years boosted.
our econmany is around 40 billion. imiagine taking in another 25 billion a year in a couple of years. this would great a stronger econmany thus a higher per capita income which means eventually everyone would be better off.

this is only possible if the privite companies are given the freedom to make the most start of facailites to attract indian students. also sri lanka is located in close proximity to india.

my systme works!!! just trust me. it works.

u say 8000 troops not enough ay? 2.5 billion US defence budget spread across 8000 troops thats super carriea 100,000 + ton displacement every 2 years. not just that we could buy advances weopanry. reserch weoponay sell it. make money
or 180 helicopters a year, not crap russian ones, good ones like AH apache and black hawk. 2.5 billion USD is alot of money to be spent each year.
remember wont need to buy muintion because we are not at war. it is just for show. to make poeple feel safe and let investors know sri lanka is a stable nation that will defend its rupee.

if the time of war does arrise which is highly unlikly. we could just sell off 20 tons from our massive gold stock piles. and buy about 800 million USD of muintion from china.
200 million dollars munition was enough support the current army 375,000 for seveal weeks.
800 million dollars worth of muntion thrown at terriost orginstion is enough to deliver a massive blow. u need to worry about times of war. when the war arrives in the distant future our econmany would be massive.

and Yes 8000 total employed in defence sector to protect this nation, including admistration etc. because there would be tons more equipment. 100s of helicopters. so 2 people would be able to cover vast lands and ocean.
20 men in 20 helicoptor gun ships would be able to give support to any terriost extraction.

i'm getting bored of this. this just talking on some forum, i want this plan actually implemented by the goverment. sence this country is full morons that look for ice on the top instead of the bigger picture. guess we'r on way to becoming the next india or iraq.

[TallBox]

Originally Posted by Dollar_man

i'm getting bored of this. this just talking on some forum, i want this plan actually implemented by the goverment. sence this country is full morons that look for ice on the top instead of the bigger picture. guess we'r on way to becoming the next india or iraq.

We'd be North Korea or Somalia because of your plans. Only a bigger moron than yourself would implement it.

[Pilotofthefuture]

I like your policies Tallbox.. just a few things I may add-

military-

I think the f/a 18 super hornet is an incredible aircraft... but (this is assuming, of course, that the US does relax it's export policy on this) the military would be better off with a more advanced air superiority fighter like the f-22. I could be wrong... but I'd think the best option would be to have a mix of F/A-18E/F super hornets and F-22 Raptors.
Why not go for the c17 globemaster III instead of the A400M? Higher payload, longer range and faster (albeit a little more expensive), would suit a global deployment force better than the A400M.
Your choice of AEW&C aircraft is interesting too. Why not go for the Boeing 737 AEW&C? It's more advanced and will be a better accompaniment to the p-8 poseidon.
How about attack helicopters such as the AH-1Z Viper or the AH-64? The Hind is out-dated now.. even the russian military will be replacing them in the next decade.
I wont mind a few UH-60s too


UL-

Thumbs up on the 777-200LR. The LR would suit North American routes well. I'm sure others have objections to this.. but this is my opinion.. and i'm sticking with it.

For Europe- why not use the A340-300? It's got a larger capacity. I'm not too comfortable with the -200 for those routes. Or just get a few 787-900s because it has a similar capacity to the a342 but with the added advantage of better fuel efficiency and higher yields


Airport-

Yes... I agree... change it back to Katunayake International Airport!

09/27- is that feasible? How are the general wind directions at CMB year-round? And is there space? Why not extend the current 04/22 runway toward the lagoon and have the Negombo road go under the runway like what they did at SYD airport. Of course it will be expensive.. but it's just an idea if there are no other options.


Cheers for your posts tallbox.. looking forward to any more plans you may like to share.

Btw: just ignore the moron (you know who im talking abt). Nobody here is paying attention to anything he has to say anymore.

[TallBox]

Hi Pilotofthefuture

Thanks for your kind comments on my ideas on how to develop Sri Lanka. Allow me to address your points one by one.

I like your policies Tallbox.. just a few things I may add-

military-

I think the f/a 18 super hornet is an incredible aircraft... but (this is assuming, of course, that the US does relax it's export policy on this) the military would be better off with a more advanced air superiority fighter like the f-22. I could be wrong... but I'd think the best option would be to have a mix of F/A-18E/F super hornets and F-22 Raptors.

I didn’t choose the F-22 for several reasons:

• The aircraft is no longer in production, and all 180-odd aircraft are in service with the USAF already
• The F-22 Raptor is too much for Sri Lanka’s needs. It is *the best* air dominance fighter in the world and will remain so for the next 15-20 years probably. Sri Lanka needs a multirole fighter than can do a range of missions – from air defence, to strike, to patrolling the seas (Sri Lanka needs to project military power in the Indian Ocean)
• From my proposal, if the Sri Lankan Joint Forces has the F/A-18E Super Hornet from 2020 onwards, the aircraft will already be 20 years old, therefore cheaper and easier to buy. Yes, it’ll be an old aircraft, but more than enough for Sri Lanka’s needs until around 2040 when we can change to the F-35.
• Sri Lanka doesn’t have the experience to operate 5th generation fighters (we need to run before we can sprint )
• The Americans wouldn’t sell us the F-22
• F-22 is too expensive to buy and operate. You’d need to fly bespoke parts from the US everytime a part needed changing. Even if the Americans sold it to us (which they won’t), we would only be able to afford a few, probably less than 12

Why not go for the c17 globemaster III instead of the A400M? Higher payload, longer range and faster (albeit a little more expensive), would suit a global deployment force better than the A400M.

The main reason is cost. The second reason is that although Sri Lanka, under my proposal, would have an expeditionary capability, it doesn’t need a huge capability like the C-17. For example, Sri Lanka probably won’t deploy its forces out of Asia, and maybe part of Africa, so doesn’t need the range of the C17. Any loss in payload from buying the A400M will be made up with having more of them, than if we bought C-17s.

Another reason is that the A400M can also act as refueling aircraft (you just need to buy the hose/drogue kits), so that flexibility is also important.

Your choice of AEW&C aircraft is interesting too. Why not go for the Boeing 737 AEW&C? It's more advanced and will be a better accompaniment to the p-8 poseidon.

The reason that I chose the E-2D Hawkeye is because I see Sri Lanka as kind of a large aircraft carrier, on which these aircraft are used. It needs a reliable number of aircraft to provide entire air radar coverage for the island. The B737AEW&C will do the same, but will be much more expensive, meaning we can have fewer. If one or two breaks down, then that would only leave one left.

Again, I am trying to balance cost with capability in order to make this more realistic.

How about attack helicopters such as the AH-1Z Viper or the AH-64? The Hind is out-dated now.. even the russian military will be replacing them in the next decade.
I wont mind a few UH-60s too

The main reason for attack helicopters is to take out personnel and lightly-armoured vehicles (like trucks, APCs etc). The Apache was designed for taking out heavily-armoured Soviet tanks rolling into Europe. Sri Lanka is more likely to be fighting insurgents with RPGs, Stingers and AA guns, for which the Hind is more than satisfactory. Of course, under my plan, the Hinds would be upgraded to the latest variant, which will allow them to operate in all weather conditions in day or night. Also, it is cheaper.

UL-

Thumbs up on the 777-200LR. The LR would suit North American routes well. I'm sure others have objections to this.. but this is my opinion.. and i'm sticking with it.

For Europe- why not use the A340-300? It's got a larger capacity. I'm not too comfortable with the -200 for those routes. Or just get a few 787-900s because it has a similar capacity to the a342 but with the added advantage of better fuel efficiency and higher yields

Main reason is because UL already has A340-200s, so makes sense to use them instead of buying new ones. I think in the longer term we would go towards the A350 family.

Airport-

Yes... I agree... change it back to Katunayake International Airport!

09/27- is that feasible? How are the general wind directions at CMB year-round? And is there space? Why not extend the current 04/22 runway toward the lagoon and have the Negombo road go under the runway like what they did at SYD airport. Of course it will be expensive.. but it's just an idea if there are no other options.

Good point. I’m not sure of the general wind directions. If 09/27 is feasible, I’d like there to be one. The reason I would like 09/27 is because I think in the long-term (40-50 years) CMB needs four runways if it is to realise a boost in the economy and tourism. And the only way I see of adding another 2 is to build 2 parallel 09/27s because of Negombo to the north and I think Negombo should expand its suburbs.

I think there is adequate space... The yellow blocks are the terminals (T1 already existing). T3 and T1 will have an orbital railway connected to Negombo (obviously the tracks won’t go in the sea lol, it’s just a schematic). And the airport land will be expanded eastwards, allowing Negombo to grow to the North.



Thanks for your comments.

[lordvader]

Originally Posted by TallBox

TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE

Sri Lankan Airlines
Sri Lankan Airlines should be part-privatised, and Emirates (or maybe Etihad??) brought back on board for a 49% ownership for the next 7 years. This will open-up codeshare routes as well as investment into the fleet. As Katunayake Airport is upgraded (see below), Sri Lankan Airlines should position itself as a reputable carrier and reclaim the reputation that we had a few years ago – this is achievable because we’ve already done it! The fleet, in the short term (next five years) should look something like this:
4x B777-200LR – for new routes into North America (Toronto, New York, Chicago, Washington). I know this is almost heresy suggesting Boeings in an otherwise all-Airbus fleet, but I just love these aircraft, and I think the capacity they could carry would be very useful into North America for connecting the Sri Lankan diaspora
6x A340-200 – to maintain routes into Europe
10x A330-200 – to maintain and expand routes in the Middle East, Asia and Australia (Sydney and Melbourne)
5x A320 – for the India/Pakistan sector

Over a longer period (~10 years), Sri Lankan Airlines (and I’ve grappled this idea, whether UL should be a long-haul or short-haul-based carrier), and I think the most opportunity is in the Indian sub-continent market. So UL, under the Govt’s and EK’s stewardship should invest in 12x A350s

I like your fleet plan except where you say UL should get A340-200s. Why should UL replace its current A340-300's with less efficient aircraft?

I reckon they should also consider adding 787s to their fleet as the amount of seats (in the 787s) are comparable to UL's current aircraft, whereas the A350 seats a lot more (upto a 100 more people). If UL cant find an extra 100 people to fly then they'll be screwed.

Originally Posted by TallBox

Airports
Katunayake International Airport (IATA: CMB, renamed from Bandaranaike International Airport) should be expanded.
Phase 1, 2008 – Upgrade of existing terminal (8-gate pier)
Phase 2, 2013 – Second runway (04/22, 3350m) and second terminal with 12-gate pier
Phase 3, 2015 – Third and fourth runways (09/27, 4000m)
Phase 4, 2018 – Third terminal with 20-gate pier each capable of handling 800 passengers for the A380. This will be designed by an international architect, probably in the style of Geoffrey Bawa to give a local identity – so natural ventilation, pond cooling, lots of plants. It will be financed from a large retail floor allowing standard chains like Starbucks, McDonalds, Costa, alongside local ones like Elephant House, Keels, and the Fab (I love the Fab) to sell. If possible, it would also be nice to get some high-class retail in their, like a Lexus show room, or a Mont Blanc department store etc etc.

Phase 1 is already done (8 gates have already been added). Phase 2 is also currently being planned for a 2013 finish (correct if wrong) although anything is possible! However I think Phase 3 and 4 may be a waste of money for a while until the other phases show signs of crowding. Also BIA doesnt have land to expand (without causing disruption to the adjoining town), probably two runways will fit in tops. Most airports seem to handle much larger volumes of traffic than BIA with two runways.

Originally Posted by TallBox

Railway Infrastructure
Now for a big one: I am going to start a major upgrade of the railway infrastructure. First of all, the railways will be privatised, probably to foreigners for terms of 20-25 years. This will give them the security of coughing up money for investment in track/station infrastructure, recover their money over 20/25 years and go home. Although the railway will be privatised, I will instruct an umbrella group the - Sri Lanka Railways – to oversee the coordination of maintenance, upgrades, fees, operating schedules etc. This means that you can buy a single ticket to go from Galle to Jaffna even if you are using several different railway networks. The railway infrastructure will be completely replaced with:

• electrification happening on all major tracks
• up-country tracks to be upgraded (if electrification is not feasible)
• wide-gauge railway lines to be connect Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Batticloa, Puttalam, Mannar (for connection to India), Anuradhapura, Vavuniya, Jaffna, Trincomalee, Katunayake, Hambantota. This will eventually allow high speed rail (HSR) links of 174mph (2025) and 186mph (2030) across the island, when it becomes affordable. For comparison, in Europe typically speeds on HSR routes are about 155mph, but will eventually be around 205mph
• upgrade to all the above stations providing travel information, integrated bus network and shelters, retail etc. Commercial developments such as offices and retail will be built around these rail terminii to improve connectivity across the country

Good idea although a lot of people will be opposed to it initially due to higher rail fares which are currently subisdized. As such a big information campaign will need to take place. Also if it means they get to their destination faster im sure theyll become accustomed to the idea. Also the foreign ownership factor may come into play here.

Originally Posted by TallBox

Roads and Highways


Highways (H-roads) and A-roads will be constructed by opening an international competition to tender. Ideally, Malaysian, Chinese, Korean or Japanese firms will be tasked with investing with these roads. In order to acquire skills and retain labour, a key criteria will be that 40% of the length of highways and 70% of A-roads are built by Sri Lankans. Hopefully then there will be enough experienced Sri Lankan foremen to oversee work in Sri Lanka and abroad. The catch is that the foreign companies get to charge tolls (probably Rs 100) on the H-roads for a period of 25 years. I know there is an argument that free roads should be a right, but there is no other way to finance such projects.

Good idea although there has to be alternative roads for people who cant afford the 100 rs to use. Otherwise a large amount of people wont be able to travel.

Originally Posted by TallBox

Other methods of traffic management are also necessary:

• Retrain drivers – Sri Lankan drivers are among the best and safest in the world. Not! Drivers will need to retrain. I’m not going to make this overly complicated like in the West, but drivers should at least know how to operate a car, how to control speed and not exceed the speed limit, how to respect other traffic (lane discipline), and how to obey directions (traffic lights etc). There will be several classes of driving license (as there is now): trishaw, standard car/van, bus, large lorry.
• More traffic directions – You can’t expect to run a country (e.g. if a business relies on a courier service) if there is a chance that the courier could get killed on the road! More directions are needed, such as ‘give way’ signs, lane discipline, traffic lights, pedestrian crosssings, speed limitations as well as route directions. This will reduce mortality on roads, ensure that people and goods can travel safely and quickly.

Definitely has to be done soon!

Overall though I like your ideas and think they can be implemented with some determination and guts. I hear elections are soon, maybe you should run!

Also should we move the discussion into this thread: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=773740

[Pilotofthefuture]

I didn’t choose the F-22 for several reasons:

* The aircraft is no longer in production, and all 180-odd aircraft are in service with the USAF already
* The F-22 Raptor is too much for Sri Lanka’s needs. It is *the best* air dominance fighter in the world and will remain so for the next 15-20 years probably. Sri Lanka needs a multirole fighter than can do a range of missions – from air defence, to strike, to patrolling the seas (Sri Lanka needs to project military power in the Indian Ocean)
* From my proposal, if the Sri Lankan Joint Forces has the F/A-18E Super Hornet from 2020 onwards, the aircraft will already be 20 years old, therefore cheaper and easier to buy. Yes, it’ll be an old aircraft, but more than enough for Sri Lanka’s needs until around 2040 when we can change to the F-35.
* Sri Lanka doesn’t have the experience to operate 5th generation fighters (we need to run before we can sprint )
* The Americans wouldn’t sell us the F-22
* F-22 is too expensive to buy and operate. You’d need to fly bespoke parts from the US everytime a part needed changing. Even if the Americans sold it to us (which they won’t), we would only be able to afford a few, probably less than 12

Actually.. an export model of the F22 is being developed and i hear that Australia and Israel might purchase this model. And i hear the F-35 is not as great as the F-22. (The same argument is still going on in Australia about it's planned acquisition of the f-35). Parts would need to be purchased for the F/A-18 Super Hornet too which will need to be flown down from the US. But i guess your right when you say 5th generation fighters are too advanced for Sri Lanka at this time. Initially, F/A-18s will have to do... but i guess later on... the F-22 would be a worthwhile replacement along with a few f-35s when the prices come down. Having such an advanced fighter as the f-22 in the future would be a major deterrent for any invading force (if there is any). But again.. i guess you are right about the F-22 for the next decade or two. The Super Hornet is the most logical choice within that time span.

The main reason is cost. The second reason is that although Sri Lanka, under my proposal, would have an expeditionary capability, it doesn’t need a huge capability like the C-17. For example, Sri Lanka probably won’t deploy its forces out of Asia, and maybe part of Africa, so doesn’t need the range of the C17. Any loss in payload from buying the A400M will be made up with having more of them, than if we bought C-17s.

Another reason is that the A400M can also act as refueling aircraft (you just need to buy the hose/drogue kits), so that flexibility is also important.

The cost of the c17 is a little higher than the A400M but I just feel it would be a much more worthy investment. Sri Lanka has forces currently serving as far away as Haiti in the Caribbean, so range would be an advantage (Might as well be prepared for it in my opinion). The A400M is currently plagued by issues and the C17 is a tried and tested aircraft. The first test flight for the A400M is scheduled for tomorrow i think. Let's see how it goes. I guess... if all goes well... the A400M will be just enough for Sri Lanka. But i still am tending towards the C17.

The reason that I chose the E-2D Hawkeye is because I see Sri Lanka as kind of a large aircraft carrier, on which these aircraft are used. It needs a reliable number of aircraft to provide entire air radar coverage for the island. The B737AEW&C will do the same, but will be much more expensive, meaning we can have fewer. If one or two breaks down, then that would only leave one left.

Again, I am trying to balance cost with capability in order to make this more realistic.

I guess you're right about that. I'm just not sure about the E-2D because it's still relatively new and I cant find much information about it. I know that the E-2C is out-dated and the Singapore military is replacing their E-2C aircraft with Gulfstream 550 AEW aircraft. (http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/new...9feb09_nr.html)
.
So that may be another option if the E-2D doesnt perform to expectations.

The main reason for attack helicopters is to take out personnel and lightly-armoured vehicles (like trucks, APCs etc). The Apache was designed for taking out heavily-armoured Soviet tanks rolling into Europe. Sri Lanka is more likely to be fighting insurgents with RPGs, Stingers and AA guns, for which the Hind is more than satisfactory. Of course, under my plan, the Hinds would be upgraded to the latest variant, which will allow them to operate in all weather conditions in day or night. Also, it is cheaper.

The attack helicopters I mentioned are capable of attacking insurgents holed up in fortified buildings and bunkers too and can carry enough firepower to support ground troops longer and more effectively. Again, I am just saying it's better to be more than adequately prepared because we don't know what to expect in any overseas deployment the forces will have to face. They also serve as a deterrent again for any invasion force. This is just my opinion... The hind will be adequate for our forces.. I just like being prepared for anything... But yes.. it all comes down to how much money there is. lol.

Main reason is because UL already has A340-200s, so makes sense to use them instead of buying new ones. I think in the longer term we would go towards the A350 family.

Actually... UL has A340-300s not -200s. You may be confused with the A330-200 that UL has in it's fleet too. Hence, my proposal to continue using the A340-300s on European routes.

I like your plan for CMB. 4 runways may be overdoing it a little bit though. lol. But I guess it's better to have it in the plan if the need arises (better to be prepared. lol). I like how you placed T2 between the runways.. I had a similar idea myself. I wouldn't mind working with you on the master plan for CMB.. lol. Do you have any background in aviation? You seem to know your stuff. I'm still undergoing my studies in aviation so i'm still a bit of a noob. lol.

Pls don't take offense to any of my comments/criticisms.. I am just offering my opinions and I agree.. they may seem quite over-the-top. I understand the cost of some of my plans are quite high... think of them as optimistic views.. assuming all goes well for the economy of Sri Lanka (if a person with thinking similar to yours takes leadership ).

[TallBox]

Originally Posted by Pilotofthefuture

Actually.. an export model of the F22 is being developed and i hear that Australia and Israel might purchase this model. And i hear the F-35 is not as great as the F-22. (The same argument is still going on in Australia about it's planned acquisition of the f-35). Parts would need to be purchased for the F/A-18 Super Hornet too which will need to be flown down from the US. But i guess your right when you say 5th generation fighters are too advanced for Sri Lanka at this time. Initially, F/A-18s will have to do... but i guess later on... the F-22 would be a worthwhile replacement along with a few f-35s when the prices come down. Having such an advanced fighter as the f-22 in the future would be a major deterrent for any invading force (if there is any). But again.. i guess you are right about the F-22 for the next decade or two. The Super Hornet is the most logical choice within that time span.

In October, Obama signed a bill cancelling production of the F-22, but he has also authorised research into the impacts of selling it. This does not mean that they will buy it.

F-35 is not as great as the F-22 kinematically (i.e. in terms of speed, range, g-rate etc) but it is better than the F-22 in terms of avionics and systems. Think about it man - the F-22 is an early-1990s design. The F-35 is a mid-2000s design! Think about the increase in computing power since then... in the 1990s we were playing on 16-bit Ataris, now we're on 4Gb Pentiums! The processing power of the F-35s computer will be such in that it can detect, sort and engage targets much quicker than the F-22. But still, the F-22 is probably better in terms of A2A.

Anyway I think my point is that the F-22 is a bit too much for Sri Lanka - we're only a small island .

Actually... UL has A340-300s not -200s. You may be confused with the A330-200 that UL has in it's fleet too. Hence, my proposal to continue using the A340-300s on European routes.

Yes, you and lordvader are correct, I meant the A340-300s

I like your plan for CMB. 4 runways may be overdoing it a little bit though. lol. But I guess it's better to have it in the plan if the need arises (better to be prepared. lol). I like how you placed T2 between the runways.. I had a similar idea myself.

Yep 4 runways may be a bit too much lol, but they are comparatively simple to build (of course you need to strengthen foundations, ensure the strength of the tarmac under repeated punishment, manage run-off of rainwater to prevent skidding etc etc - it is not as simple as building a road) but it is simpler than building another airport in another 40 years because there is no room to expand!

I wouldn't mind working with you on the master plan for CMB.. lol. Do you have any background in aviation? You seem to know your stuff. I'm still undergoing my studies in aviation so i'm still a bit of a noob. lol.

Hehe, well I don't have a huge background in aviation per se.... but I was in the air force for three years. In fact my expertise is on energy and masterplanning so that masterplan for CMB collaboration with you would be a good one . I am also doing a masterplan for Colombo (just for fun!) with zoned areas for skyscrapers, transport, housing, retail zones, power generation, harbour etc etc.... watch this space!!

Pls don't take offense to any of my comments/criticisms.. I am just offering my opinions and I agree.. they may seem quite over-the-top.

No problem man, always happy to hear different opinions and constructive criticism

I understand the cost of some of my plans are quite high... think of them as optimistic views.. assuming all goes well for the economy of Sri Lanka (if a person with thinking similar to yours takes leadership ).

Originally Posted by lordvader

Overall though I like your ideas and think they can be implemented with some determination and guts. I hear elections are soon, maybe you should run!

Hehe, thanks guys!

[Pilotofthefuture]

I'll just say this- I agree with you on updating the Air Force with far newer fighters compared to what we already got. (The argument abt f-22 or f-35, however, we can agree to disagree on, so let's just leave it at that shall we? )

But yeah... all your other policies on transportation, land rights, emergency services etc. and also getting international participation in the development of the country.. they are excellent. Hell... I'd vote for you! lol.

Btw.. your master plan of colombo sounds interesting. lol. Pls do share with us .