Cabinet decisions

Four bridges over Nilwala Ganga

The Cabinet has granted its approval to a Memorandum submitted by Railways and Transport Minister A.H.M. Fowzie on the construction of super structure of four bridges in the Coastal Railway Line. Wagner Biro Bruckenbau AG of Austria will construct the super structure of the bridges at Bentota, Unawatuna, Kathaluwa and Midigama in the coastal railway line. The Cabinet Appointed Negotiating Committee and the Project Committee will negotiate with the Austrian Company.

Construction of Mahanama Bridge at Matara

The Cabinet has granted its approval to a Memorandum submitted by Highways Minister Hon. Jeyaraj Fernandopulle on the construction and rehabilitation of Mahanama Bridge at Matara with the Korea International Cooperation Agency's (KOICA) grant of US$ 7 million.

The transportation capacity of the Mahanama Bridge in Matara will be improved by providing new lanes and rehabilitating existing lanes of the bridge. According to the proposal of KOICA the bridge will be widened to six lanes. In addition the new bridge consists of two cycle lanes. Proposed period of project implementation is three years commencing from year 2006 to 2008.

Improvement of water supply in Hambantota

The Cabinet has granted its approval to a Memorandum submitted by Urban Development and Water Supply Minister Dinesh Gunawardena on the construction of head works, raw water transmission, treatment plant and treated water pumping main at the Hambantota Water Supply Scheme.

The Government has received a loan from Asian Development Bank (ADB) towards the cost of secondary towns and rural community based water supply and sanitation project.

The overall objectives of this project are to provide safe water to nine hundred and sixty nine thousand persons and sanitation to hundred and seventy one thousand five hundred in four secondary towns, Hambantota, Batticaloa, Muttur and Polonnaruwa and in the rural districts of North Central Province and to improve the administrative capacity of the water sector institutions.

Hambantota Water Supply Scheme is one of the urban sub-projects to be implemented under the above project and will serve with safe water to 133,000 people of the district in the year 2025.

Consultant to the Constitutional Affairs

The Cabinet has granted its approval to a Memorandum submitted by Constitutional Affairs and National Integration Minister D.E.W. Gunasekera on the appointment of Mr. N. Bambaravanage as a Consultant to the Ministry.

His Excellency the President Mahinda Rajapaksa has assigned the Department of Official Languages and the Official Languages Commission to the Ministry, whereby the implementation of Chapter IV of the Constitution on language rights within the purview of the Ministry.

The Constitution recognises the languages rights as a fundamental right, and for the purpose of effective recognition of this right is imperative that meaningful measures be taken. The bilingualization of the public service is one such measure.

The effective implementation of same rests with the Ministry and officials with wide experience and commitment to this cause is necessary. Mr. N. Bambaravanage, who functioned as the Additional Secretary of the Constitutional Affairs and National Integration Ministry was entrusted with the task of being in-charge of the National Integration Division and supervising the administration activities and the foreign funded projects.

He had been functioning as the focal point with regard to the implementation of the bilingual policy and effectively engaging himself to bring about the desired results.

Upgrading of disaster response network in the Western Province

The Cabinet has granted its approval to a Memorandum submitted by H.E. the President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is also the Minister of Finance and Planning, on an amendment to the decision of 13th September 2006 on the upgrading of disaster response network in the Western Province and selected urban areas with the assistance of the Netherlands Government.

The Cabinet granted its approval to increase the amount in the Grant Agreement to be entered into with the NIO Bank of the Netherlands to Euro 10,634,771 and to decrease the amount in the Loan Agreement to be entered with the Cooperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen Boerrenicen Bank B.A of the Netherlands to Euro 20,164,418.