CHOGM will inspire Commonwealth leaders

Sri Lanka's second highway - the Airport Expressway will be opened by President Mahinda Rajapaksa today, marking a new chapter in Sri Lanka's chequered history. The new highway which connects Colombo to the Bandaranaike International Airport at Katunayake, will be a boon to every sector as it would reduce the travel time to a mere 20 minutes.

Unprecedented development with many mega projects are now under way - unheard of in Sri Lanka's history. Opening the Airport Expressway is a notable achievement as it comes less than two years after the opening of Sri Lanka's first-ever highway - the Southern Expressway in November 2011.

Construction work on the Airport Expressway has been completed in time for the VVIPs attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka next month.

An expressway between Colombo and Katunayake had been a long-felt need and the leaders of successive governments had only talked about it for almost three decades.

The idea of developing a high-speed link from Colombo to the then country's only international airport was first mooted in the early 1980s to cater to the rapidly expanding industrial areas in the region and tourism.

Several alternative routes had been proposed during the past two decades before it was finalised through Peliyagoda, Mabole and Muthurajawela marshes, causing minimum inconvenience to the public and reducing enormous land acquisition costs by avoiding densely populated areas.

A few amendments were made to the original plan before the Central Environmental Authority approval was obtained for the 25.8km long stretch. Finally, it was finalised from the new Kelani Bridge roundabout at Peliyagoda to the Canada Friendship Road which connects the Colombo-Negombo road to the BIA at Katunayake.

The Airport Expressway which was designed to provide easy access to the BIA, will also provide easy access to Ja-ela and Negombo for motorists to avoid heavy traffic congestion along the Colombo-Negombo road up to the Katunayake Airport junction.

Since President Rajapaksa took office in November 19, 2005, many mega development projects have been launched under his direction. Despite spending colossal sums of money in the country's relentless battle against terrorism, development projects were also implemented to meet future demands.

On the other hand, President Rajapaksa did not let the country's infrastructure development suffer due to terrorism. Hence, development and the battle against terrorism got top priority.

When the valiant Security Forces eradicated terrorism, the development drive was further accelerated with more funds.

The Airport Expressway, built at a cost of over US$ 250 million, will not only ensure smooth travel to and from the BIA to Colombo, but would also reduce traffic congestion along the Colombo-Negombo road to a great extent. The new expressway will be hailed by industrialists and businessmen alike as it would reduce their lead time. In other words, the Airport Expressway fulfills a long-felt need of the nation which successive leaders since independence had ignored.

President Rajapaksa's far-sighted vision paved the way to begin construction work on the first expressway from Kottawa to Galle in 2006. It will be extended to Hambantota in two stages. Construction work on the Southern Expressway extension from Galle to Matara is nearing completion.

Moreover, the Colombo Outer Circular Road which runs from Kottawa to Kerawalapitiya via Kaduwela and Biyagama would connect the Southern and Airport Expressways, along with the Kandy Expressway which would also see the light of day in the near future. Apart from the expressways, the country's road network has progressed rapidly. For the first time in Sri Lanka's 2,600-year-old history, has the country's road network improved so vastly.

Moreover, other than the milestone achievements with expressways, many mega development projects had been completed under the President's illustrious leadership. The Government has given top priority to the agricultural and hydro-power sectors by embarking on several mega irrigation projects such as Moragahakanda, Uma Oya and Rambakan Oya projects.

The regular power cuts imposed during the previous regimes ended with the construction of the Kerawalapitiya, Upper Kotmale and Norochcholai power projects. The commissioning of the second international airport at Mattala and the Magampura Harbour in Hambantota has been a turbo boost for the economy.

These are only a few of the many mega development projects that have been launched during the past eight years. What is most praiseworthy is the fact that President Rajapaksa found the massive funds needed for these projects even at the height of LTTE terrorism when the country was expending a huge sum of money on defence.

Thanks to the President's right foreign policy, Sri Lanka not only strengthened its bilateral relations, but also made new friends who stood by the country in the most trying times. Had it not been for those friendly countries, and their support during the height of LTTE terror, Sri Lanka would never have achieved these milestones.

Hence, no other political leader worth his salt could match the singular achievements of President Rajapaksa since November 2005. With the eighth anniversary of President Rajapaksa first assuming office next month, it is time to take stock of the landmark achievements with greater hope for the future. If Sri Lanka had a far-sighted leader of the calibre of President Rajapaksa earlier, the country would have been a developed nation by now.

Nevertheless, Sri Lanka is making much headway with the dawn of peace. It goes without saying that over half a million people in the North and the East, who had been liberated from the jaws of LTTE terror, are now making a tangible contribution to the national economy.

Their untiring efforts and the Government's huge volume of funds on infrastructure development in the area had helped the Northern and the Eastern Provinces to record an unprecedented development of over 27 percent, compared to the seven percent overall growth.

The masses are also reaping the rich dividends of peace. The Government spared no pains to restore everything that was lost due to terrorism, save the human lives claimed by Tiger terrorists.

Restoring democracy in the North and the East, which had been repressed by the bullet by the LTTE for 23 years, is an added achievement. The setting up of the Northern Provincial Council has also helped people in the North to elect their own representatives to run the provincial administration.

Hence, CHOGM 2013 in Sri Lanka comes at the most appropriate time as the country is marching towards new economic horizons. More importantly, there is ample testimony that the country is making a determined effort in national reconciliation with the end of terrorism over four years ago.

CHOGM 2013 will provide Sri Lanka a golden opportunity to showcase its achievements to the world. The leaders of the Commonwealth nations who will be in Colombo for the 53-nation event, the biggest in Sri Lanka after the Non-Aligned Summit in 1976, will get a unique opportunity to get first-hand information on the country's progress after terrorism was defeated and the peace and harmony that now prevails among all communities.

This will undoubtedly end all the malicious propaganda spread by the LTTE rump and enlighten the few Western countries which had been misled. The Tiger cohorts could no longer mislead the Western leaders and win international sympathy. The visiting Heads of State could experience the true situation in Sri Lanka and take this message to the world at large, so that non-Commonwealth States too could have a true perspective of Sri Lanka.

It is indeed most heartening to behold the abiding faith reposed by Commonwealth countries in Sri Lanka. Apart from Canada, all other Commonwealth nations will be represented at the highest level and their presence will no doubt inspire Sri Lanka to march towards greater heights in the near future.