EU to build social infrastructure in North

Hiran H. Senewiratne

The European Commission will commence a program to build social infrastructure in North and East targeting all conflict affected persons including IDPs by next year.

Under this project they will mainly build the social infrastructure including hospitals, schools, water supply projects, community centres and many more schemes to uplift the living standards of those people who had suffered for several decades due to the ethnic war, European Union Geraldo Carreiro said.

Carreiro said this program will cover the Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Vavuniya and Mannar districts initially and will involve the entire community in the area affected by the conflict for the last few decades. Therefore, they want to involve IDPs in this program as well, he said.

The EU will also now promote the Environment Remediation Project (ERP) to assist all Municipal Councils and local government bodies in the country.

The purpose of the ERP program is to provide solid waste management which has become a major issue encountered by almost all Municipal Councils and local government bodies in the country, he said.

“This is a viable project and gives a solution to the country’s garbage problem, which has become a major health hazard in many cities in Sri Lanka. We have established a well organized system in Ampara to collect garbage in the areas and this garbage will be separated in the plant based on organic, non organic and other matter for recycling purpose. Once they are recycled they will be manufacturing various products including compost, recycled plastics and land filling materials, he said.

He said that this type of project has been implemented in Ampara covering nine major cities in the district with EU fundings of Rs. 1.5 billion.

Carreiro said that the Ampara ERP project could be considered as a pilot project and all Municipal and local government authorities need to take on board the operating cost while they are willing to provide technical know-how to start up these projects in the country. The ERP projects are successfully operating in EU countries, he said.