New Galle - a grand rising from the rubble

by Chandani Jayatilleke

Very soon, the Galle town that we all know, may become unrecognisable. With international assistance and local initiatives, this tsunami-hit historic town is rising from the rubble to become an exciting cocktail of the old and the new.

The glitz that is to come will not obliterate what Galle town has been known for all these years. A quaint, old world charm would remain on its own, assures Kingsley T. Wickramaratne, Governor of the Southern Province and the moving spirit behind the transformation.

The post-tsunami reconstruction and rehabilitation projects in Galle district are progressing rapidly. Countries providing assistance are continuing to work along with governmental and non-governmental agencies to ensure that targets are met, adds Wickramaratne.

He told the Daily News that the Greater Galle City Development Project, which was initiated in the hope of rebuilding the city after the disaster, was gathering momentum.

Following the tsunami disaster, Galle town almost disappeared. This was basically because of irregular building methods. Galle was basically an unplanned town.

President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga took much interest in rebuilding Galle town. She suggested that the tsunami disaster be taken as an opportunity to plan the town in a proper way, to rebuild it with more facilities for business, trade and education. Its infrastructure is to be modernised.

The proposed city plan will cost about Rs. 20 billion, and President Kumaratunga has already allocated Rs. 5 billion, says Wickramaratne. An office has been set up in Wackwella and a prominent town planner Ashley de Voz will be in charge of the project. The Director, Projects will be T. G. Jayasinghe. With the dedication and commitment of the Government, the town development project is taking concrete shape.

Under the new project, Galle will have a fully fledged Economic Centre, a train and bus station, a planned shopping complex, housing villages and a learning corridor.

Under the Greater Galle City Development Project, construction of the Economic centre has already been started. There will be 2,000 shop houses in this centre. The first 800 families will get their houses next month. The Economic Centre will be located at the entrance to Galle City.

Galle's main bus stand will be relocated and the existing one will be transformed into the main bus halt. Accordingly, the train station and the bus stand will be on Richmond Hill, which is about three km from Galle Town.

"It will be convenient for people to change trains and buses. It will also be quite a spacious place with other facilities such as eating outlets and toilet acilities.

"We have also taken measures to preserve the old world charm of Galle town. Historic buildings and masterpieces of architecture will come under this list. Accordingly, the Railway Station's old building will be preserved as a Museum of locomotives," Wickramaratne says.

Then comes the police station and the post office complex. This area will be converted into a city hotel, and it will be given to a prospective investor on a 99-year lease. "We have already had discussions with a prominent business group on this plan," the Governor adds. "Galle at present, does not have a proper city hotel, with facilities for weddings, conferences etc. Therefore, this city hotel project will address that need," he says.

The prison in the Galle Fort will also be transferred into a hotel which would provide its clients a unique holiday experience. The entire Galle city project will take about five years to be completed.

The next major segment of the project is to set up a learning corridor from Gintota to Galle Devata. A Faculty of Ocean Sciences will be set up over the River Ging - it will be like a bridge which connects the two banks of the river the Faculty will be built on three piers.

In addition to the present Medical Faculty and the Engineering Faculty, there will be an IT Park to make it a complete Learning Corridor.

Referring to the tsunami reconstruction work in Galle, Wickramaratne says, "We have built most of the permanent houses, for those who lived beyond the 100 metre zone. About 3,800 houses have been constructed in Galle district alone. By December we will be finishing all the permanent housing units beyond the 100 metre zone and they will be handed over to the beneficiaries."

The units to be built for the people who lost their houses within the 100 metre zone will be finalised by March next year, he adds.

As part of the tsunami assistance, the German government is spending upto Rs. one billion to set up a 1,500-bed hospital in Karapitiya and also a school for nurses will be built.

"We have also planned out housing villages which will consist of 25 to 30 houses. We have got Junior Chamber International (JCI) members from 18 countries to set up such villages to relocate people who lost their houses in the tsunami." The JCIs supporting the project are from the Netherlands, Switzerland, Nevada, France and Singapore. There are many other JCIs which have pledged support.

"We have also received from the Madrid Government, 80 pre-fabricated housing units. We are setting up these houses in Unawatuna and Godagama. These houses are allocated for Army, Navy, Air Force, Police and Provincial Council employees who have lost their houses.

However, this does not meet the requirement. Therefore, we have made a request for 100 more such houses," he added.

"With all these donations and grants we expect that there would be about 500 housing units in excess which could be given to deserving people in the area."

Meanwhile the Municipal Council of Melbourne is supporting the proposed Sports Complex in Mattegoda. And Japan has also agreed to set up 14 tsunami shelters in the South, which could be used as shelter when a disaster strikes next.

Wickramaratne will be away this week in Singapore and Austria. As part of his tour, he will make presentations to various JCIs to raise more funds for development projects in Galle. For the Faculty of Ocean Studies, Wickramaratne said, he would find an investor." We'll invite them to come and study the project and estimate the cost accordingly," he said.