Great leap forward
Sandasen Marasinghe
*Massive technological achievement
*Sri Lanka to become economic nerve centre
*Thousands of employment opportunities
The construction of the Hambantota International Port is a ‘great
leap forward’, said President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressing the several
thousands strong participants at the Karadiya wara Mangallaya or the
ceremony to fill the port basin with sea water.
Describing the construction of the port as a massive technological
achievement, he said, “We will not anymore be a nation that is satisfied
with supplying only fuel and water to ships. This port must lead to the
emergence of tens of thousands of employment opportunities”.
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Heralding a new dawn in Sri Lanka’s maritime history,
President Mahinda Rajapaksa turns the wheel to release the
first sea waters into the Hambantota Port Basin yesterday.
Sri Lanka Ports Authority Chairman Dr Priyath Bandu Wickrama
is also in the picture. Pictures by Sudath Silva |
“Our Motherland is not a place to dump the waste and discards of
other countries. We must transform our country as an economic centre
that spreads the national brand name Made in Sri Lanka throughout the
world.”
Inviting the youth to unite with the government to make the country
an economic hub of the world, President Rajapaksa emphasized the need to
develop an independent economy for the country without worrying that
many other nations which were behind us in development have surpassed
us.
He said that the construction of the Hambantota port is the prelude
to the massive economic development ahead of the country. “Hundreds of
ships passed daily closer to our shores but it was only other countries
that yielded the benefits.”
President Rajapaksa said many persons and organizations discouraged
when steps were taken to construct this harbour while some even filed
cases against it.
“Some were pessimistic and said this was impossible. Today we have
proved that we could do it,” President Rajapaksa said.
He said it was not the sea water that was flowing in but the
prosperity of the nation. The attitude of “no” in the minds of the
people should wash away with this water flowing into the harbour. An
independent economy will emerge out of this harbour. This is a fine
example to show how to develop the nation with its own energy, without
complaining of the lack of funds and development,” the President said.
President Rajapaksa said there are forces inimical to the nation and
they attempt to delay our development projects even by a day. “They
don’t like us to come among the strongest nations in the world. The
youth of this country should understand it properly.
The youth also know that there are organizations and political groups
that find their survival using the poverty of our country and they don’t
like to see us developing,” he said. The President said the government
has a responsibility to develop an independent economy to fulfill the
bravery of the valiant heroes who brought victory and freedom to the
nation. |
