Lanka grateful to Saudi Govt. for tsunami assistance

"The Sri Lankan government and the people of Ampara district are grateful to King Abdullah and the Saudi people for providing assistance to obtain houses and infrastructure facilities for displaced families after the 2004 tsunami," said Minister of Housing and Common Amenities, Ferial Ashraff at the inauguration of the construction work of 'King Abdullah Model City' at Akkaraipattu, Norochcholai recently.

The kingdom of Saudi Arabia will provide funds to construct the "King Abdullah Model City" which comprises 500 houses, two mosques, 30 ft inner road, full equipped hospital, school, community welfare centre and 30 shops. The tsunami affected people in Ampara district will be settled in this model city.

The Saudi Arabian government has undertaken this project on a request by Minister Ferial Ashraff during her visit to Saudi Arabia. After the inauguration of the construction work of this city, the Minister said "Even after two years of the tsunami, we were unable to provide housing facilities for tsunami displaced families. We faced several problems to find a plot to suitable lands of construct houses in the Eastern Province including the Ampara district.

Saudi Arabian Ambassador in Sri Lanka Al Ali who participated in the function said "The Saudi Arabian Government has taken the initiative action to help tsunami disaster victims within a couple of days after the tsunami hit Sri Lanka. Although the majority of tsunami victims in the Eastern Province were Muslims, it is the expectation of our government to help Sinhala, Tamil and other communities when they were displaced due to the tsunami disaster.