German assistance for disaster housing management training programme

COLOMBO: The National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) will train 1,000 technical officers in disaster housing management in the coastal belt within the next three months.

Tsunami Housing Supporting Project (THSP) of the German Technical Co-operation (GTZ) and the Ministry of Economic Co-operation and Development of Germany will fund this programme.

The agreement in this regard was signed at the NHDA, recently.

Roland F. Steurer, Sri Lankan Country Director of GTZ and NHDA Chairman Mohamed Rafeek signed the agreement.

Technical officers involved in housing construction in the coastal belt will be trained under first phase.

This training based on the national guidelines for housing development will cover the natural disasters such as tsunami earth tremors, floods and high wind.

This training programme will also cover the settlement planning, housing designs using the technology and materials.

Technical officers engaged in housing development attached to the government institutions, local authorities and Non-Governmental Organisations in the Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Galle, Matara, Hambantota, Jaffna, Puttalam, Ampara, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Kilinochchi districts will receive training under this programme.

GTZ Country Director Dr. Roland F. Steurer after signing the agreement said, "It is important to re-house the people displaced by the tsunami. These activities are being implemented with the assistance of foreign Governments and Non-Governmental Organisations.

The GTZ jointly with THSP has worked out to achieve this goal to make Sri Lankan housing sector for disaster preparedness to face the future disasters by providing systematic training to the technical officers, he said.

NHDA Chairman Mohamed Rafeek said, the NHDA was engaged in tsunami reconstruction activities based on the experience of 2 1/2 decades in the housing sector of Sri Lanka. This programme will help streamline the NHDA housing activities.

GTZ Tsunami Housing Supporting Project Director, Piyal Ganepola and NHDA Vice Chairman Dayananda Wijesinghe, Working Director M. T. M. Sadik, General Manager Wasantha Wijeratne were also present.