JICA project to develop cultural tourism in Sigiriya

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has signed a Record of Discussion (R/D) with the concerned authorities of the Central Cultural Fund (CCF) of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and National Heritage (MCANH) and Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) of the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) to initiate a 25 year technical cooperation project on "Project for Development of Culture-Oriented Tourism in Sigiriya" (Project COTS).

The project COTS is initiated in line with the request of the Government of Sri Lanka which was intended at developing the tourism sector that was heavily setback by the December 2004 tsunami and the ongoing civil war status of the country. The Government of Japan responded to this request through extending assistance to several projects in the vicinity of a new museum construction at Sigiriya, installation of display equipments in the museum, and infrastructure and human resource development with respect to tourism.

The "Project to construct a New Sigiriya museum" is been implemented under the counterpart fund scheme of the Government of Sri Lanka, a scheme which delivers developmental assistance through turning foreign aid into reserves of domestic currency where recipient Governments can use these finances to improve its necessary infrastructure facilities. The museum is expected to be opened to the public by mid of year 2009.

Furthermore, financial assistance worth of 2604 million Japanese yen is approved to be provided through the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to improve the infrastructure facilities, access roads and human resources in five identified tourism regions in the country including Sigiriya. In order to further amplify outcomes of the aforementioned 03 projects, project COTS aims to extend assistance though hardware and software cooperation and establish the operational and management functions of the new museum, while promoting culture oriented tourism in Sigiriya.