Boosted by infrastructure developments:

H'tota has a good chance to host Commonwealth Games

By Shirajiv SIRIMANE

Gold Coast is one of the most developed cities in the world. When a remote area called Hambantota, somewhere in Sri Lanka made a bid to compete with this Australian city to host the world' fourth largest sporting event, the Commonwealth Games, the contest was deemed a one-horse race.

"Hambantota" in the eyes of the world, was just a neglected area and when it made a bid to host this sporting event in 2018, the world's sporting public did not even know where it was. The entire focus was on Australia.

The Gold Coast is considered as one of Australia's fastest growing large cities with Gross Regional Product rising from A$9.7 billion to A$15.6 billion in recent times.

The economy is driven by the industries of construction, tourism and retail. Some diversification has taken place, with the city now having an industrial base formed of marine, education, information, communication and technology, food, tourism, creative, environment and sports industries; city's unemployment rate (5.6 percent) is below the national level.

Around 10 million tourists visit the Gold Coast every year and tourism is the region's biggest industry, directly contributing more than A$4.4 billion into the city economy every year and directly accounting for one in four jobs in the city.

Sporting facilities include the Carrara Stadium, Carrara Indoor Sport Centre, Nerang Velodrome and the Sports Super Centre. Some of these facilities are being superseded by newer and larger capacity facilities.

The governor of Central Bank Ajit Nivard Cabraal said when Putrajaya in Malaysia made a bid to host the Commonwealth Games, the city's micro-fundamentals were similar to that of Hambantota and Sri Lanka. He said that Sri Lanka maintains the same economic growth rate and per capita income of Putrajaya at the time its bid was made and hence the country is in a position to host the games. "The country also has the same passion," he said.

Chairman Commonwealth Games Evaluation Committee Louise Martin (left) meeting local officials

CEO Commonwealth Bid Organising Committee Nalin Attygalle with Louise Martin during the inspection tour

Hambantota harbour The proposed Mattala airport

The Suriyawewa stadium

The proposed Media Centre Pix: Thilak Perera

However, with the rapid development taking place in Hambantota, the Commonwealth Games Evaluation Committee says that Sri Lanka now has a 50-50 chance to host the games. "The development that is taking place in Hambantota is amazing and this has helped the country to be a strong contender," said CEO of the evaluation team Mike Cooper.

He said when they visited the proposed second international airport in Mattala three months ago only 20 metres of the runway was complete but today the runway is almost complete. "This is a significant improvement and is very encouraging and would certainly help the City's bid to host the games.

Head of the Commonwealth Evaluation Committee Louis Martine, at the press briefing at the Central Bank, Colombo, also observed that they have "no doubt about the resolve to deliver the necessary infrastructure by 2016," She said they observed a substantial progress.

She said one of the biggest plus points the country has is the leadership shown by the Government, which too was very encouraging.

She also said that they met the local staff and spoke with several people and were happy to see a tremendous progress. "I too can say that the proposal by Hambantota is very exciting and unique," she said.

"Overall, the proposal of staging the Commonwealth Games in Hambantota is an exciting one and, given the development of the infrastructure, will provide a unique games experience for the athletes and other client groups," Martin said in a statement.

"We have been impressed with the vision for Sri Lanka and Hambantota and now have a clear view of where the hosting of the Commonwealth Games could fit within that vision," she said.

The international media too had positive comments on Sri Lanka's bid with Reuters stating that "Hambantota's bid for the 2018 Commonwealth Games won plaudits on Thursday from an evaluation commission visiting the Sri Lankan coastal city."

"Sri Lanka, which is emerging from decades of ethnic conflict amidst allegations of war crimes, hopes to use the games as a platform to attract investments to the country's economy," another media reported.

All venues except the existing Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, set to host the opening and closing ceremonies, will be built and completed between 2014 and 2016, ahead of the South Asian Games. They include a 40,000 capacity athletics Stadium; 7,500 capacity international aquatics centre; 7,000 capacity hockey stadium; 2,500 capacity exhibition centre; 5,000 capacity main arena; multi-sports complex and velodrome. The Games Village will also include an athletics track and 50m training pool.

All facilities other than the velodrome will be developed, regardless of the outcome of Hambantota's bid. The facilities that are proposed would narrow the gap between Gold Coast and Sri Lanka. In addition the Ruhunu Magampura International Harbour, airport highway and rail links too would further narrow the gap between the two cities.

One of the key movers of this project, MP Namal Rajapaksa said that the venues and sites would not be made to idle after the games. "We have a master plan so that this investment could be put to prudent use in the future too," he said. The athletic village would become a residential hub to support the business and IT park and university that are being proposed. "None of the hotel rooms that would be built would be idling and they would have business as rapid economic development would takes place," he said. He said the country needed a developed and well-planned city and Hambantota was selected as it was one of the most under-privileged areas in the country. "With the development plan for the area, soon it would be among the best-planned cities in the world."? Rajapaksa also said that plans are now under way to extend the proposed Colombo-Matara highway up to Arugam Bay via Hambantota so that tourists could go to this coastal area faster.

One of the unique features of the Commonwealth plan is that the government would be investing only 25 percent for the infrastructure with the private sector set to play a bigger role. Nalin Atiygalle said investors are already inquiring as to how they could get involved with the Games which is very encouraging. "At the last Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, several unexpected medals came India's way and this trend is expected to be repeated. "Hence, we expect more Indian sponsors and investors for the Games," he said.

He also said that the publicity the country, and especially Hambantota are gaining as a destination would automatically help promote tourism in the deep South.

He said Sri Lanka is making a bid to host the Commonweath Games on its ability and past track record.

Sri Lanka has hosted global summits, SAF games, two Cricket World Cups, IIFA awards and many other events with distinction.

"We don't vote as a nation devestated by a tsunami, ravaged by a 30-year conflict or as a developing country. We do not need a vote of symphaty", he said.

CEO of the Hambantota District Chamber Azmi Thassim said the bid by Hambantota for the games itself has already created a major plus point for economic development in the area. Thanks to this bid, when we say Hambantota, they know where it is and it is very easy to take the next step."

He said that the direct and indirect employment generation, whether the city hosts the Games or not is tremendous.

This kick-start given to the district through the Games will continue even after the event. We must thank the authorities for proposing Hambantota as a host city and placing it in the global investment, sports and tourism map, thus giving the district respectability, which was not there for centuries."