Govt allocates over Rs 250 b to develop North

The Government has allocated over Rs. 251,500 million (Rs. 250 billion) to develop the Northern Province from 2011 to 2013, said Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal.

Making a presentation on “Promoting Financial Inclusiveness in the North and the East’ over the weekend, Governor Cabraal said nearly Rs. 51,000 million (Rs. 50 billion) will be spent this year for Northern development. Of this amount nearly Rs. 20 billion will be allocated for road development.

The Northern Railway project will incur an expenditure of Rs. 8.9 billion while electricity projects will cost Rs. 5.3 billion this year. Meanwhile, investments worth Rs. 26,611 million have been planned for the East this year apart from the Rs. 116,000 million already spent on development projects in the province from 2006 to 2010.

Road development will use up to 50 percent of the funds earmarked for the East this year.

“We expect the investments made in these two provinces will result in a growth rate of around 13 percent per annum in these provinces for the next five years,” Cabraal said.

He said that in 2009, the year terrorism was defeated, the Northern Province recorded 14.1 percent, the highest nominal growth rate of all provinces. The contribution to the country’s GDP by the Northern Province increased to 3.3 percent in 2009 from 2.8 percent in 2006. Similarly, in 2009, the Eastern Province recorded 14 percent the second-highest nominal growth rate of all provinces. The contribution to the country’s GDP by the Eastern Province increased to 5.8 percent in 2009 from 4.9 percent in 2006.

Among the major developments for both provinces are: Rehabilitation of key roads, railroads, hospitals and bridges, restoration of industries that were closed due to violence, Implementation of large scale irrigation schemes, Implementation of electricity and water projects, setting up vocational training centres and technical colleges for skills development, Upgrading of fisheries harbours and developing tourist attractions.

He identified speedy resettlement, quick restoration of livelihoods, extensive infrastructure restoration and upgrades and sustained investment in the North and the East as major challenges the authorities had to face.

He said that around 18,000 persons are still awaiting resettlement in the North while de-mining was going on at a rapid pace. In two years, hundreds of thousands of deadly landmines have been cleared and destroyed by the Army field engineers and other agencies in a land area of nearly 2,000 square kilometres.

Responding to those who criticise the high cost of Sri Lanka’s war on terror, he said that from 2006 - 2009, the cost incurred by Sri Lanka on the war was US$ 5.5 billion. This included the cost of aircraft, ships, tanks, ammunition, other equipment, training, food for soldiers and uniforms. In contrast, the cost incurred by the US government to train their forces in Iraq and Afghanistan amounted to US$ 39 billion. Thus, Sri Lanka incurred only 14 percent of that cost to defeat a terror outfit, he said. “For a country that has been plagued by terrorism, this quantum of Government spending on defence, indicates restraint and thrift in waging the counter terrorism effort,” he said.