Blueprint - Documenting Development Weekly - Issue 04 English Edition

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Issue 04 | March 2021 | Fourth Week

Smooth sailing in

Sri Lankan waters

Foreign yachts being built in Sri Lanka, sailing and nautical activity taking place in the country may not be too far off in the future, as the foundation is being laid to develop Sri Lanka’s boat building industry.

The National Export Strategy’s fiveyear plan (2018-22) identified boat building and related services as one of the five key industries to expand Sri Lanka’s export market and increase earnings to US$ 28 billion by 2022. A regulatory framework to develop the boat building industry was handed over to implementing agencies under the guidance of Minister of Trade, Dr. Bandula Gunawardena.

The framework was developed by the Export Development Board while M/S Lloyds Register Marine was hired as the consultant covering the entire value chain.

When sports

and tourism combine

Plans are underway to strengthen the sports economy by holding tournaments such as the LPL in conjunction with the tourism sector, Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Namal Rajapaksa noted while flagging off-Race athletic events at the 46th National Sports Festival in Kataragama.

He added that the country had begun to strengthen the economy by producing sporting goods and sportswear. He said his goal was to enhance the sports industry to account for 2-3% of the GDP in Sri Lanka.

25,000km

of road on track

Barely four months into the year, and the Ministry of Rural roads and other infrastructure has totalled nearly 14000km of roads being constructed as of printing with a target of 25000km by the end of this year.

Minister Nimal Lanza speaking at a road development project in Katana said that the government has prioritized the development of rural infrastructure. According to the national policy framework set out by the President, the ministry has been mandated to complete the construction of 25,000km of carpeted road by the end of 2021 with 100,000km within the next four years.

In addition to this, 5,000 bridges in rural areas are to be constructed out of which 1,000 have been completed.

Tikiri Toys - Sri Lanka produces world’s first organic rubber toy In a world’s first, Tikiri Toys – the acclaimed Sri Lankan brand of natural play products for children – has been awarded the first-ever natural rubber toy manufacturing company to be awarded the Global Organic Latex Standard (GOLS) accreditation.

Tikiri Toys is locally-designed and manufactured by DSL Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, the chief exporter of organic toys from Sri Lanka.

ckudOH wud;HdxYh ntF[d Clf mikr;R Ministry of Mass Media

Little England

to get a facelift

Nuwara Eliya is to undergo a cosmetic enhancement with several development projects in the pipeline.

Beginning 23rd March, the UDA has planned development projects in Nuwara Eliya, Pundaluoya, Nanu Oya, Ginigathhena, Walapane, Rikillagaskada, Pussellawa and Kitulgala.

The Nuwara Eliya Race Course will be developed in accordance to international standards and will

include a football field, an athletics training ground, two volleyball courts, two basketball courts, a cricket grounds, a cable car project, walking path, an horse race lane, a carnival complex, a stable and a network of restaurants are to be built. Other townships will see the construction of roads, platforms, mixed development projects, beautification of urban spaces, tourists hubs and smart bus stands.

President calls on local govt authorities to

take development forward President Gotabaya Rajapaksa called on local government reps to join forces in moving the government’s policy and development drive. He said that the development work must continue at all costs and that it should fulfil the expectations of the general public. “If policies fail, the country

will plunge into despair. I expect the same support and commitment given to bring this current administration to power to take the development work forward.” He called on local government representatives to speak to people and directly address their concerns.

Developing the

education system digitally

A digital platform to seek the opinion of all citizens for the betterment and reform of the education sector was launched by the President earlier this week. Addressing the launch he said this ‘Digital Platform” was an opportune mode for the public to come up with their own ideas to advance the country’s education reforms. The platform will remain open for the next three months and can be accessed through egenuma. moe.gov.lk Proposals are invited under four sub categories; preschool education, primary, secondary, vocational and tertiary. The second step will be to create job oriented skills development through modernization and restructuring.

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Agro-Bizz removes

middleman mafia A new application Agro Bizz Smart Agro, an integrated platform developed by the Colombo based Celata Tech will save the farmer and consumer from the middleman mafia.

This is the first ever platform which will connect all stakeholders including farmers, buyers, retailers, food processors, exporters, fertilizer and pest control suppliers, transportation suppliers, agriculture base equipment suppliers and government bodies without the involvement

of intermediaries. The entire nation’s agriculture base spatial information will be hosted on this platform. The platform will enable the forecasting of crop yields, fertilizer requirement, seed, the management of financial aid/subsidiaries and eliminate the middleman by connecting the supply chain directly between farmer and consumer.

Kataragama sacred area

development speeds up

3,000

smart bus halts

More than 3,000 new smart bus halts with free Wi-Fi and other facilities will be set up islandwide. All passengers who take travel through these bus halts will be automatically covered by Rs. 1 million worth insurance. Passengers can charge their phones at these bus halts with Digital screens displaying environmental friendly messages.

Additionally, CCTV cameras providing 24 hour Security will be installed at these bus halts.

The Kataragama sacred area development scheduled to be completed by 2030 was launched

by Premier Mahinda Rajapaksa this week. Under this project the Kataragama sacred area and pilgrim infrastructure will be developed

under the project which includes 19 projects. Among it a walking path, reconstruction of Dutuwewa which was last renovated in 1947. A green area for resting facilities for pilgrims is also in the offing.

Bolagala Floating Tourism Resort in Katana

Anticipating a June 2021 launch, the Bolagala Floating Agro Tourism Resort located close to Negombo will be the new addition to an inventory of unique experiences. This is the first ever floating resort in the country which will consist of 50 floating cabanas, 10 GPS tracker-equipped cabanas that could float around, floating swimming pool, restaurant, underwater spa

and gym to name a few. Bicycle and jogging tracks, water sports, organic greenhouses, electric car experiences are all part of the project. The project proponent is Mr Kelum Perera, a Sri Lankan entrepreneur who succeeded in realizing his dream of converting abandoned clay mining pits filled with rainwater into sustainable tourism projects.

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Volunteer E-governance goes online day every last Saturday

The days of standing in line at the Grama Niladhari offices will soon be over with the introduction of the e-governance project implemented to collect and store day-to-day data so that officers can render quicker

and hassle free services to the general public. 7000 Grama Niladhari divisions have been chosen for the project undertaken by the Minister of Internal affairs and ICTA.

Rapid development

for Avissawella, Hanwella and Padukka

Beginning March 2021, the Ministry of Sports & Youth Affairs under Minister Namal Rajapaksa has allocated the last Saturday of every month to be #VolunteerSL day. This will allow volunteers to come together in specific villages and locales to carry out activities related to development & social responsibility.

The Minister insisted it is not being implemented to create an organisation, but rather for public volunteers to gather independently & carry out these activities for the benefit of the people.

Following a directive from Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, several development projects have been lined up for Avissawella and the surrounding locale by giving these burgeoning townships a much needed face-lift. Accordingly the premier has instructed officials to carry out development projects in Avissawella,

Hanwella, Padukka and other areas in the Western Province.

Among a host of projects is the construction of a housing complex for middle income earners, construction of car parks, bus stands, provision of a public service point, banks and financial premises, jogging and walking tracks.

No carcogenic

coconut oil in the market Commenting on the ongoing heated debate in the country over the adultered coconut oil which is alleged to contain carcogenic elements, Director General of Customs Major General (Retd.) Vijitha Ravipriya stated that the customs has already initiated an investigation into the matter.

Speaking at the digital dialogue organized by the Media Centre for National Development yesterday he said that the Customs were trying to

ascertain if the consignment of oil had been released to the market.

“Even if this impure coconut oil is released to the market, it could not be consumed by the public,” he said.”This oil needs to be refined before it is released for consumption.”

Meanwhile Dr. SIddika Seneviratne, He further stated that since the coconut oil must be refined prior to release it must be ascertained if these samples have been refined.

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Ministry of Mass Media

chairperson of the Consumer Affairs Authority said that samples are being taken and tests carried out throughout the country.

Ministry of Mass Media 163,Asi Disi Medura, Kirulapone Mawatha, Polhengoda, Colombo 05. Sri Lanka

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