Rs. 150m telecom tower for Kokavil

Sanjeevi JAYASURIYA

A common telecommunication broadcasting tower with an investment of Rs. 150 million will be built shortly at Kokavil, the centre point between Jaffna and Vauniya, Director General, Telecommunication Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka Priyantha Kariyapperuma said. The TRC will invest this amount as a part of its telecommunication infrastructure development project.

The 172-metre tall tower is a unique tower as it is shared by telecommunication operators and broadcasters, he said. There is no requirement to build individual towers. With the opening of the A9 highway accelerated development is expected in the North and the Kokavil tower will be built at the place where the original Rupavahini tower stood.

The tower will serve only the Northern Province while a few towers will be set up in strategic places such as Kilinochchi, Mannar and Palali to facilitate telecommunication requirements in the North under the Northern development plan, he said. These will link with the towers in the rest of the country.

“We are concerned about the people - around 750,000 apart from the IDPs already living in these areas.

They need to fulfill their telecommunication needs to conduct their day to day life, Kariyapperuma said.

There will be nine operators and one pay phone company to provide telecommunication facilities to the area, he said. Four-hundred public pay phones will be installed by the pay phone company.