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Development
Bid for Commonwealth Games 2018:
Major impetus for development
By Shirajiv SIRIMANE
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The would-be Games village
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It was only after the tsunami that the world heard about a city
called Hambantota. However, today, the city is internationally known, in
the shipping sector for the Mahinda Rajapaksa Harbour in Hambantota and
in the aviation field for the international airport at Mattala.
Hambantota, which was unknown and unheard of in the sporting arena, has
now entered the global sports vocabulary too with its bid to host the
2018 Commonwealth Games.
The Cricket World Cup game between Canada and Sri Lanka highlighted
the area's sporting potential while the ongoing South Asian Beach
Volleyball Championships and the hosting of the South Asian Federation
Games in 2016 would once again underline the city as a major sporting
destination.
Governor of the Central Bank Ajith Nivard Cabraal said that when
Malaysia made a bid to host the 1998 Commonwealth Games in 1991, they
were in the same economic situation that Sri Lanka faces today.
In 1991 Malaysia's per capita income was US$ 2,700, its GDP US$ 60
billion and population 18.5 million; several other equations were
similar to Sri Lanka's today. The city being awarded the bid to host the
Games helped Malaysia to become an economic hub and today it is a
developed country. Places such as Putrajaya, which used to be isolated
cities, were transformed into major international cities after the Games
and this is expected to happen in Hambantota too. The Governor said that
hosting of the Commonwealth Games in Sri Lanka too would help the
country to move up in the economic ladder, enabling it to come closer to
its goal of becoming the Wonder of Asia.
He said in sports too, the Games brought major changes in Malaysia.
The country which internationally had won just one or two medals before
hosting the Games went on to win 35 medals at the Games.
Cabraal said in Sri Lanka too, a seven-year plan has been introduced
to win medals at the 2018 Games in Hambantota, and this trend is
expected to take place in Sri Lanka too. He said a 1,000 acre area in
the city of Hambantota is being converted into an international sports
city where hosting events such as International Rugby Sevens, SAF Games,
T20 World Cup or even Asian Games is possible.
Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal addressing the team
from Malaysia |
With the rapid development taking place in Hambantota, with an
international harbour, airport and BPO facilities and international IT
campuses coming up and other trading activities, accommodation is
expected to become a major problem in the future. The Commonwealth Games
would add 4,000 rooms to Hambantota and some of these would be ready in
three years, providing a solution to this problem.
With Shangri La and other hotels investing in Hambantota, it would
offer 1,500 three-star class plus rooms during the Games.
Governor Cabraal said that from a spectator and tourist point of
view, Hambantota Games would be more economical as the total package for
the Games including hotel accommodation and tickets would cost less than
3,000 pounds while for Australia's Gold Coast, the minimum package would
be above 5,000 pounds.
Facilities
A Vice President of the National Olympic Committee of Malaysia, who
is currently visiting Hambantota, evaluating Sri Lanka's Commonwealth
Games bid progress, said that he was surprised by the team work the
country is carrying out towards making the hosting of the Commonwealth
Games a success.
"Your President, Sports Minister, the Central Bank and all line
ministries are working with one goal. When Malaysia made the bid, we did
not see this smooth coordination; there was red tape and disagreements
among the nearly 20 odd line ministries during the time."
The Oceania team, drawn up from several countries near Australia, who
were in Sri Lanka recently, was also pleased with the progress Sri Lanka
has made towards the Commonwealth Games bid after they visited
Hambantota. Member of Parliament of Samoa and Secretary of the National
Olympic Committee, Niko Palamo said that a vote for Sri Lanka to host
the Games would be a vote for the people of Sri Lanka.
Representatives from Oceania countries have joined a growing list of
those backing Hambantota 2018.
Despite reports in July suggesting they had agreed long ago, in
October 2010, to vote as a bloc for the other bidding city, Gold Coast,
another 'excellent and competitive' bid has given them ample food for
thought. Graham Osborne, representing Papua New Guinea, summed up the
group's sentiments when he declared: "I think you will end up getting a
few more votes than you think you might get." Niko Palamo of Samoa,
said: "Coming here has changed what we know about Sri Lanka and what we
hear about Sri Lanka. Developing countries have already hosted the Games
three or four times. And so, for hosting (the Games), to them, it's
another event. It's like Sri Lanka is representing the other 60
developing countries who haven't hosted the Games so far."
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The Oceania team members being welcomed to Colombo |
A keyplayer in the Sri Lanka Commonwealth Games Bid Committee, Nalin
Atygalle explained that Sri Lanka, which was a rank outsider for the
quest to host the Games in 2018, is now turning out to be a hot
favourite. The final decision to award the bid either to Gold Coast or
Hambantota would be made on November 11 at St Kitts and Nevis and Sri
Lanka has to secure 36 votes from the 71-member Commonwealth Games
countries.
Out of the 71 countries in the Commonwealth, it's surprising that 66
countries including Sri Lanka have never hosted a Commonwealth Games.
Australia has already hosted four Games and many member countries prefer
to award the bid to a nation such as Sri Lanka which would help improve
its infrastructure.
Australia (1938, 1962, 1982, 2006) and Canada (1930, 1954, 1978,
1994) have hosted the Games four times; New Zealand (1950, 1974, 1990)
three times; England (1934, 2002) and Scotland (1970, 1986) twice; and
Wales (1958), Jamaica (1966), Malaysia (1998) and India (2010) once.
With Scotland hosting Glasgow 2014, Hambantota 2018 Games will install
Sri Lanka as the 10th country in a list that would have added three
'new' hosts in two decades.
The Games will help create a lasting legacy for Hambantota, the
district and the country, acting as a catalyst for social, economic,
sporting and physical regeneration.
Cabraal said that Sri Lanka surprised the world by ending a 30- year
terrorism problem, leading a humanitarian operation and subsequently
clearing 366,000 landmines in two years and settling over 300,000
refugees.
Similarly, Sri Lanka would once again surprise the world by
successfully hosting the 2018 Commonwealth Games. |
