'Lighting Hambantota' program to be extended

Power and Energy Minister John Seneviratne has instructed Ceylon Electricity Board officials that the 'Lighting Hambantota' program mooted by President Mahinda Rajapaksa and launched at a cost of Rs. 4,000 million be extended to the Galle and Matara districts.

This project inaugurated in 2007 has already achieved 80 percent progress and will provide electricity to almost all villages in the Hambantota District.

Under the new program envisaged, all the remaining villages which have no electricity in Galle and Matara will be provided with electricity.

At present, 93 per cent of population in Galle and 86 per cent in Matara enjoy electricity and this will be brought upto 96 and 90 percent respectively within a month , he said.