Pasikudah Tourism Zone:

Investors given ultimatum

Chaminda Perera in Pasikudah

The lands leased out to the investors in the Pasikudah Tourism Zone will be taken over by the government, if they fail to complete construction by December 31, this year, Acting Media Minister and Economic Development Deputy Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said yesterday.

The Deputy Minister made this announcement at a meeting with all stakeholders in the tourism sector including the investors and the representatives of local government bodies to review the progress of the construction in the Pasikudah tourism zone, at Amathyst hotel in Pasikudah. He made inquiries from the investors about the problems impeding the construction of hotels in the zone. Construction of two hotels have already been completed and many more are to be operational by December 31.

The discussion also focused on the beach cleaning and frontage illumination of each hotel. The Koralai Pattu Pradeshiya Sabha representatives said that they do not have enough tractors to be deployed for beach cleaning and the deputy minister promised to

provide a tractor that should only be deployed for beach cleaning activities. The officials pointed out that people used to dump garbage including used bottles to the river mouth and they are washed away to the Pasikudah beach polluting the area.

The Deputy Minister requested the Divisional Secretary to look into the matter and come out with an arrangement that would solve the problem. A number of projects have been launched by the Tourism Development authority in the area and most of them are at operational level now.

The meeting also focused on the supply of water, electricity facilities to the projects. Investors complained that there was a voltage fluctuation in the power linked to the projects .

The Deputy Minister in turn said that this situation will be rectified, once the mega electricity supply project to the Batticaloa district is completed.