Financial Times

Irrigation Dept wins top Holcim award
Holcim Awards 2003 recently held at the Colombo Hilton recognized exceptional efforts made to improve the quality of life of the local community, in a rare gesture of recognition of government agencies.

The Awards Night, the company said, strove to recognize projects that led to national development focusing on the social, environmental and economical aspects of these projects. Among the many awards was the most coveted one - Best Project - which went to the Irrigation Department of Sri Lanka for the diversion of the Mau Ara waters to the Malalal Oya Basin.

Before this diversion, the resources of the Malala Oya were being over exploited as a result of the intensity of farming in the area. The network, with a reservoir capacity of 33,000 cu. ft. augmented about 30 Major/Medi-um/Minor tanks raising the cropping intensity to 2.0 for a command area of about 1885ha, benefiting 1,700 families. The opportunity was also taken to employ almost 3,000 unskilled people from some of the poorest areas in the country for a period of four years, which included extensive training. At the end of their employment and training each of these individuals left as qualified masons, carpenters, mechanics or operators. Thirty engineers were also trained in design and construction, which will give them the confidence to undertake any water resource development project in the future.

"Holcim recognized this project not only for the sustainable benefits it gave the people living in the Malala Oya area, but also for the manner in which it uplifted the lives and lifestyles of over 3,000 people. Holcim also acknowledged the value of the economic stability through more employment opportunities and a higher level of confidence," a company statement said.

Other than the Best Project Award Holcim also presented Merit Awards for projects to the Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau for the designing and construction of the Vocational Training Centre at Wattegama. This training centre focuses on improving the lives of physically and mentally challenged individuals, and consisted of a building with a hostel for the students workshops for vocational training and an auditorium.

A Merit Award was presented to CML Edwards Construction Ltd for the construction of the bypass in Mawanella on the Colombo - Kandy Road which has become crucial in easing the traffic congestion in and around the Mawanella area and has considerably lessened sound and air pollution.

Merit Awards were also presented to Keangnam Enterprises Ltd for the innovative use of new methods and products in its construction projects, the Institute for Construction Training and Development (ICTAD) for its initiatives and development of the construction industry in Sri Lanka through encouraging legislation, production of documentation, training and providing an advisory facility and The National Building Research Organisation for its research into soil stabilization in the construction of roads in Sri Lanka.

Cyprus employment offerscontinue for Sri Lankans
Cyprus will continue to provide employment opportunities to Sri Lankan workers despite its recent accession to the European Union. This assurance was given by President Tassos Papadopoulos to Foreign Minister Tyronne Fernando during the latter's visit to Cyprus. "Cyprus will not forget old friends who have stood by her, even while she is making new friends," the president was quoted as saying.

During his visit, Fernando had talks with the Cypriot Foreign Minister George Iocovou, and met the Minister of Communication and Works Kyriakos Kazamias, the Minister of Labour and Social Insurance Makis N. Keravnos, and the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism Yiorgos Lillikas.

On the trade front, Sri Lanka expressed interest in signing the Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement with Cyprus, and discussed enhanced opportunities to export value added Sri Lankan tea and basic consumable to Cyprus. The two countries also pledged to sign the Air Services Agreement within the next few months.

The Minister of Communication and Works expressed the hope that the conclusion of this agreement will lead to an increase in tourist arrivals from Cyprus to Sri Lanka. Cyprus Airways is due to fly direct to Sri Lanka in the near future. In his discussions with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Labour and Social Insurance, Minister Fernando expressed Sri Lanka's interest in the expanding labour relations between the two countries. There is an estimated 15,000 Sri Lankan workers in Cyprus.

NDB to manage World Bank project
The Ministry of Finance recently signed a management contract with the National Development Bank (NDB) whereby NDB will monitor the utilisation of a Japanese government grant of $ 1 million channelled through the World Bank to empower the poorest of the poor women in the south and the northeast regions.

Approximately Rs. 50 million of this grant will be made available to the Women's Development Federation (WDF) of Hambantota to be channelled through its Janashakthi Bank (JB) network. The balance Rs. 50 million will be made available to the recipients in the north and the east through the Seva Lanka Foundation.

Over the past two decades, NDB has consistently involved itself in the provision of financial facilities to medium scale, small and more recently, micro scale industries, by administering a number of credit and grant schemes in these sectors. The bank continues to play a significant role in these areas, wherever funding through credit lines is available.

The grant component for the south is to be used to renovate tanks, provide rain water storage tanks, cultivation and micro loans, training of JB officers and borrowers, provision of computers and the expansion of the JB network in the Walasmulla area.

The money for the war-affected northeast will basically cover social mobilisation activities, promotion of village banking activities, entrepreneur development training and also granting assistance to set up income generating micro projects. The projects in the south and the northeast are expected to benefit large numbers of poor women ultimately helping to uplift living standards of families.

The grant also aims at providing opportunities to women in the northeast to learn from WDF's experience in organising themselves in implementing various projects as done in the south. This is expected to help in strengthening the links between women of the north and the south.

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