Cabinet Decisions

Ministerial committee to organise 65th Independence Day celebrations

The Cabinet of Ministers approved a proposal by Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister W D J Seneviratne to appoint a Ministerial Committee consisting of the following to make arrangements for the 65th Independence Day celebrations

The committee headed by Prime Minister D M Jayaratne will include Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister W D J Seneviratne, Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena, Mass Media and Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, Culture and the Arts Minister T B Ekanayake, Eastern Province Chief Minister Najeeb Abdul Majeed, Buddha Sasana and Religious Affair Deputy Minister M K A D S Gunawardena and Public Administration and Home Affairs Deputy Minister Wijaya Dahanayaka. The Public Administration and Home Affairs Ministry Secretary will function as committee Secretary.

Yen 1,206 million grant from JICA for Manmunai Bridge construction

The proposal by the President, in his capacity as the Ports and Highways Minister to implement the Manmunai bridge construction project with Yen 1,206 million Japanese grant and Rs 397 million contribution by the Sri Lankan government was approved by the Cabinet.

Improvement of physical facilities at Hardy Technical College, Ampara

Youth Affairs and Skills Development Minister Dullas Alahapperuma's proposal to construct a three storied building consisting of class rooms, an auditorium etc and for the provision of other equipment at a cost of Rs192 million was approved by the Cabinet.

This will be implemented over a three year period beginning 2013. Action will also be taken to upgrade the Technical College to a University of Technology with funds to be provided under the Medium Term Expenditure Framework 2013-2015, through the Tertiary and Vocational Education Development Programme to be financed by the Asian Development Bank.

Improvement of physical facilities at Technical College, Matale - the proposal

A proposal by Youth Affairs and Skills Development Minister Dullas Alahapperuma to construct a two storied building consisting of six class rooms, a computer room, and a room for plan drawing and other ancillary buildings etc for Technical College, Matale was approved by the Cabinet. Rs 135 million will be made available for the project.

Euro 21 million from Spain for Greater Ratnapura Water Supply Scheme

The proposal by the President, as the Finance and Planning Minister, to enter into a loan agreement with a Bank in Spain to obtain a Buyer's Credit in Euro 21,930,000 to finance 85 percent of the project cost for the Implementation of Greater Ratnapura Water Supply Scheme was approved by the Cabinet.

It was also decided to enter into another agreement with a local bank to obtain domestic funds equivalent to euro 3,870,000.

Around 160,000 people living in Ratnapura, Kuruvita and Pelmadulla DS Divisions will benefit with the implementation of this project.

Financial assistance for Badulla - Hali Ela Water scheme

The proposal by the President, in his capacity as the Finance and Planning Minister, to enter into loan agreements with the Export Import Bank of the United States and the Hatton National Bank of Sri Lanka for US $ 64.9 million and US $ 9.26 million was approved by the Cabinet. This will be utilised to implement the Badulla, Haliela and Ella Integrated Water Supply Project - the project is designed to meet the present and future demand of pipe borne water in Badulla, Haliela, Ella and Demodara areas by augmenting the existing water resources and water will be supplied from Demodara and Moretota reservoirs.

Financial assistance for reconstruction of six railway bridges under Belgium assistance

The President's proposal to enter into a loan agreement with Belgium to borrow euro 4,438,681. 70 to construct six new railway bridges was approved by the Cabinet. These bridges along the railway lines at Wellawatta, Polgahawela, Narahenpita, Navatkuli, Dehiwela and Angulana have been identified to be reconstructed under the project.

New Export Processing Zone at Mirijjavila

Cabinet approval was granted to establish a new Export Processing Zone (EPZ) at Mirijjavila on a proposal by Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa .

This EPZ will consist of 228 hectares of government land released by government agencies in the Hambantota district. The projected expenditure to develop the EPZ is estimated at Rs 2.2 billion. The BOI will recover the cost as lease rental of individual blocks to be allocated to investors and for providing other services such as water, electricity etc.