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| Thursday, 2 October 2003 |
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Sea planes to boost local tourism by S.M. Jiffrey Abdeen - Kandy south group corr. Sea planes to develop local tourism and to provide a quick mode of transport to tourists will commence in November this year to give tourism a boost said Minister of Central Region Development Tissa Attanayake at a meeting to review the progress of the proposed project. Minister Attanayake said that three meetings to co-ordinate and implement this project had been held in which officials from the Department of Civil Aviation and SriLankan Airlines participated. Plans are afoot to obtain permission from the Mahaweli Authority, Ministry of Defence and the Environment Authority. Plans are under way for sea planes to land at Lake Gregory in Nuwara Eliya, Bentota Lagoon, Victoria Reservoir in Kandy, Pogolla Reservoir and near Hotel Mahaweli Reach in Kandy. These places have been identified as potential places for landing of these sea planes, by officials of the Department of Civil Aviation. Arrangements will be made to land these sea planes in the Kandalama tank, in Dambulla, Nuwara Wewa in Anuradhapura and the Parakrama Samudra in Polonnaruwa when the necessary infrastructure will be installed for the landings. All connected departments have given their fullest co-operation for the successful implementation of this project. Minister Attanayake said that about nine persons could travel in these sea planes. "The landing of these sea planes will not cause any disturbance to the local life or its environments. There will be no noise pollution, environment pollution or any hinderance to the animal or bird life in the jungles closeby. This will also not obstruct the lives of those who earn their livelihood by fishing in these lakes or reservoirs. These sea planes will land only during day time and there will be time table for its landing and take off. Further there will be also trained officials in attendance at all places of land to meet any contingency," he said. The industry expects high spending tourists and foreign investors to make full use of it as they had often complained of the long hours taken by road travel. No extra taxes will be levied on those presently involved in travel trade and who wish to avail of this facility. Officials of the Ministry of Central Region Development, Ministers, Parliamentarians, District Secretaries, Officials from the Civil Aviation Authority and the SriLankan Airlines were present at the meeting. |
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