Ministry to set up university towns

Dinesh De Alwis

The Higher Education Ministry will establish university towns in Sri Lanka. The project has been named "the University Township Project" Higher Education Ministry Secretary Dr. Sunil Jayantha Nawaratne told the Daily News. Under the project, shopping malls, hospitals, banks, professional institutes, post offices, libraries, labs and research centres will be set up in the universities. The facilities can be used by the town community and the students. The universities can earn from the project, he said.

The objective of the project is to expand infrastructure facilities of the universities and integrate the town community with the university students. Historical significance related to each university will be considered in developing each university town, he said. Sri Jayewardenepura, Colombo, Kelaniya and Rajarata universities have expressed their willingness to the project.