SL's first Science Park

Priyanka KURUGALA

The foundation stone for the first ever Science Park in Sri Lanka will be laid by Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa, today. It will be one of the most ambitious development projects in the science and technology field.

Technology and Research Minister Pavithra Vanniarachchi, and Senior Minister Prof Tissa Vitharana also will participate in this event.

The Science Park will be housed in a 50 acre plot at Pitipana, Mahenawatte, Homagama. "The development of the Park will be in four stages. Phase one will see the establishment of a Nanotechnology Centre of Excellence (NCE). The NCE will include a Centre for Research and Investment (a state of the art laboratory), cells of incubation, a Technology commercialization Centre, Library, Auditorium and Accommodation for visiting Scientists, a Ministry spokesman said..

"Phases two, three and four will proceed based on the success of the first phase. Phase Two will provide facilities for large scale Corporate Research and Business Development to be availed by the public and private sectors in Sri Lanka and overseas," he said.

Phase three envisages a focus on expansion of High Technology Industries and centralised services and Phase four seeks to provide housing and recreational facilities for the research community.

Phase one will commence on today with the laying of the foundation for the Centre for Research and Investment at a cost of Rs. 829

million provided by the government. The construction of Phase one is an expected to be completed by mid 2013.

The establishment of the Science Park is an initiative undertaken by the Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC) which is a

private-public partnership with 77 percent shares held by the government. The private sector partners in the project are MAS Capital

(Pvt) Limited, Brandix Lanka Ltd., Dialog Axiata PLC, Hayleys PLC, and Loadstar (Private) Ltd.

SLINTEC is a private company that was established in 2008 to pursue Sri Lanka's National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) that was adopted in 2006. SLINTEC chairman is Deshamanya Mahesh Amalaen. The Board of Management of SLINTEC has an equal number of government and private sector nominees.