Saudi/IOM help for tsunami survivors

The Saudi Charity Campaign for the Relief of the Earthquake and Tsunami Victims in Asia (SCC) and IOM have started construction of a model housing development for tsunami-affected families in eastern Sri Lanka.

Construction work is already underway on over 250 permanent houses and infrastructure including a road network, two separate schools for boys and girls and a multi-purpose hall in Ampara, on one of the areas worst hit by the December 2004 tsunami, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said in a statement.

The project follows an agreement signed between the SCC and IOM last year for IOM to build permanent housing, infrastructure and other facilities in Ampara district.

Under the US$10 million agreement, IOM will build 500 houses, a clinic, two schools, a market, a multi-purpose hall, a mosque, a mini-stadium.

It will also build roads and landscaping. The project will also provide two buses to serve the community.