{"id":87140,"date":"2019-04-11T15:33:36","date_gmt":"2019-04-11T22:33:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=87140"},"modified":"2019-04-11T15:33:36","modified_gmt":"2019-04-11T22:33:36","slug":"the-reign-of-mahinda-rajapaksa-part-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/04\/11\/the-reign-of-mahinda-rajapaksa-part-6\/","title":{"rendered":"THE REIGN OF MAHINDA RAJAPAKSA Part 6"},"content":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

The Rajapaksa\nperiod saw several advances in the university sector. The Ocean University was established by Act No\n31 of 2014 to provide graduate and diploma level training in fisheries, marine\nand nautical engineering.  It is located\nin Mattakuliya, Colombo. It offers degrees in Fisheries, Marine Science, Marine\nEngineering, and Transportation Management & Logistics Coastal & Marine\nResources Management. There are certificate courses in Diving, Welding and\nmechanics of Floating Vessels. The first convocation was held in 2016. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sri Lanka\nTechnological Campus was started in September 2015. It is a subsidiary of Sri Lanka Telecom<\/a>. It is a\nprivate institute conducting programs in electronics, telecommunications and\ncomputing. The main campus is at Padduka in the former satellite station\npremises. It is the first corporate funded, fully residential non-state\nuniversity in Sri Lanka.  The curriculum is\nfashioned after the global standards set by Washington\nAccord<\/a> for Engineering degrees and Sydney Accord<\/a> for\nTechnology degrees. Its degree programmes are recognized by the\nUniversity Grants commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kotelawala Defence\nAcademy started to train doctors, because the armed\nforces needed more doctors. There was a shortage of doctors in the\narmy, said Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in 2017. Our goal was to find a solution\nto this problem by establishing a new medical faculty.\u201d The First Batch of\nOfficer Cadets of the Faculty of Medicine of the General Sir John Kotelawala\nDefence University were conferred with the Degree of Bachelor of Medicine and\nBachelor of Surgery (MBBS) in 2014. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

University of Moratuwa had produced very good electronic\ngraduates but   there were no\nopportunities in electronics in Sri Lanka. The big companies were not interested\nand there was no local electronics industry, the graduates were going\nelsewhere.  In 2014, government granted\nRs 160 million for an Advanced Electronic Design Centre at University of\nMoratuwa. This grant enabled them to purchase electronic design automation\ntools, software for designing circuit board and chips through automation\nprocess. These were very expensive and no  \nlocal company could afford them. The\ncentre was functioning by 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mahinda Rajapaksa\nmade a considerable contribution to the energy sector. Both \u2018Norochcholai\u2019 and\n\u2018Kerawalapitiya\u2019 were started during Rajapaksa\u2019s period of rule. The Lakvijaya Power Station is in Norochcholai, Puttalam<\/a>. It is the largest power station<\/a> in Sri Lanka<\/a>. Construction began on 11 May 2006, with the\nfirst unit commissioning on 22 March 2011. There was an awful fuss when Norochcholai\nwas considered, saying it was bad for the environment, because Norochcholai is\ncoal fired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Yugadanavi\nPower Station (also known as Kerawalapitiya\nPower Station) is a 300 MW<\/a>, oil-fired power station<\/a> located in Kerawalapitiya<\/a> in Wattala.  It uses heavy fuel oil. Kerawalapitiya power\nplant is owned by, West Coast Power Ltd, a government owned entity <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Construction\nof the power station began in November 2007, the first 200\nMW phase was completed in a record 10 months and was inaugurated by President<\/a>  Rajapaksa<\/a> on 8\nDecember 2008. The plant had to be available to the CEB by November 2009 to\navoid power cuts. The second phase was completed in February\n2010. <\/em>Kerawalapitiya is today\none of the largest power plants in the country with 300MW capacity. It is\nsecond only to the 900MW Norochcholai coal power plant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eng. J.A. S Perera, CEO of WCPL, provided a\nhistory of the project, in an interview with the media. This land was owned by\nCeylon Electricity Board for a long time and it was intended to put up a\ncombined cycle power plant by CEB, he said. There had been several attempts by\nthe CEB to build a power plant but none of them succeeded for various reasons.\nThe Rajapaksa government which came to power in 2005 made a fresh attempt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lakdhanvi Ltd was selected as contractor to\nbuild the plant by a Cabinet appointed tender board to build a 300MW plant that\ncan operate on liquefied natural gas, heavy fuel and auto diesel. That attempt\nalso failed as the Ministry of Finance did not permit the CEB to borrow USD 300\nmillion for the purpose or get a loan to build it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Finance Ministry told the Power Ministry\nthat the project would have to be outsourced. They wanted private investors to\ninvest. The\nwar was at its height and it was not easy to get investors. A new company was\nset up in the name of West Coast Power Ltd to raise around USD 300 million for\nthe purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The WCPL went to banks but no Sri Lankan bank\nwas able to give such a large amount. Finally HSBC Hong Kong agreed to give\nloan for 70 per cent of the project cost but demanded a government guarantee,\nsince the WCPL was a new company. Euro 152.2 million loan was given by HSBC\nPLC-United Kingdom and France to finance the project, in four 12-year tranches\nand one 10-year tranche.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even then the WCPL still needed to raise 30\nper cent of the cost by way of equity. The EPF agreed to invest Rs. 2,975\nmillion while Lanka Electricity Co. (LECO) agreed to put up Rs. 2,000. The\nNational Savings Bank and ETF also agreed to give loans. These were converted\nto WCPL equity. Ministry of Finance including the NSB and ETF has 50%, EPF has\n27.05%, LECO has 18.18% and Lakdhanavi 4.77% of the shares. Unlike in a normal\nequity investment scenario, the interest to NSB and ETF was also used to\nfinance cost of the project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Equity investors usually do not take equity\nuntil funds for the entire project is secured. In this case, the investors put\nin their money without waiting for this, taking a very high risk. If WCPL\nfailed to get the loans, these equity investments of EPF, LECO, NSB and ETF would\nhave led to a major crisis for those organizations. That was the kind of risk\nthey took. The WCPL never had to spend more than its original equity of 12,425\nmillion rupees and 152 million Euros, said Perera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have kept this power plant in an excellent\ncondition. We have won many international awards. It is one of the very few\ncombined cycle power plants in the entire world running on heavy fuel oil,\nwhich is cheaper than diesel. CEB only wanted a diesel operated power plant.\nOperation with diesel, which is a much cleaner fuel, is lot easier. But by\noperating on heavy fuel oil, we save this country more than ten billion rupees\na year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kerawalapitiya power plant helped to avoid\npower cuts on many occasions. We came on line in 2009 and avoided the predicted\npower cut.  There were several dry years\nfor the CEB after that. During those years, this power plant did the bull work\nfor the CEB.  There were many failures at\nNorochcholai too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No other power project has been as unfairly\ncriticized as this. Now the plant is operational and making profits, so it is\neasy for people to criticize. Nobody now appreciates the situation which had\nprevailed when this power plant was constructed. There was a global financial\ncrisis. Banks would not lend any money. Many big banks collapsed. There was a\nwar going on and security threats. Even the engineering drawings of this very\npower plant had once been found in an LTTE camp in the North, concluded Perera.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rajapaksa\ngovernment was a pioneer in solar energy. LOLC Group Company Sagasolar Power\nopened Sri Lanka\u2019s first ever utility scale solar power plant in Baruthankanda,\nHambantota in 2016. The construction had started in 2010 and was completed\nin 2015 at a cost of US$ 18 million. This plant is over seven times the size of\nthe largest solar project in Sri Lanka, said the media. It has the capacity to\nproduce 10MW of power that will be given to the national grid.  The project will provide 20GWh which will be\nsufficient to provide the annual electricity needed so 15,000 typical Sri Lanka\nhomes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka Navy had re-established its\nHydrographic Wing in 2012.  In 2018, it\nhad earned Rs. 1.69 million by providing professional consultancy services and\nbathymetric surveys for private sector institutes. In 2017, there was an MOU\nwith Netherlands to use the Sri Lanka Navy store in Galle, to store       weapons needed by its personnel for\nprotection of vessels. They were storing them in Singapore till now. Sri Lanka,\nunder Mahinda Rajapaksa had provided this storage for many private firms. This\nis the first with a government, stated the media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rajapaksa government opened a newly built\nstate-of-the-art fish trade centre at Peliyagoda in the outskirts of Colombo In\n2011. This replaced the St. John’s fish market built in 1894 in Pettah,\nColombo. The new Central Fish Market Complex, situated on a 3.17 hectare\nreclaimed marshy land along the main Katunayake airport expressway, was built\nat a cost of 1.7 billion rupees. The Asian Development Bank provided 675\nmillion rupees and the government provided the remainder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This wholesale fish complex has 148 stalls on\nthe ground floor. The top floors have been allocated for banks, post offices,\npolice services, a restaurant, and a quality control room. The complex also had\n25-metric tonne ice factory, three cold storages, and a water purifying plant. A\nmodern parking facility to accommodate 500 cars   was planned for. Sri Lanka Fisheries\nCorporation had   in 2011 signed an\nagreement with the Power Asia International Company for this car park. The\nPeliyagoda fish market complex is expected to become a distribution and selling\ncentre of fish to all corners of the country, said the media in 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mahinda Rajapaksa\nhad, in March 2012, negotiated a Japanese Development\nAssistance (ODA) loan package to Sri Lanka administered through Japan\nInternational Cooperation Agency (JICA) to supply of 124 ambulances and provide\nfour secondary hospitals Galgamuwa, Kalawanchikudy, Teldeniya and Warakapola,\nwith facilities and necessary equipment to implement early detection, treatment\nand prevention of non-communicable diseases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kaluwanchikudi Base Hospital and Warakapola\nBase Hospital were refurbished first.  Theldeniya Base Hospital complex was done in\n2017.\nTheldeniya Base Hospital was revamped with a\nfive storied Operation Theater Complex, Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU),\nJudicial Medical Office Unit and latest bio medical equipment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rajapaksa supporters complained in 2015 that the UNP had removed\nthe Mahindodaya\u201d name board from the technology labs set up in schools country\nwide. They also complained that Yahapalana was sabotaging the projects\nstarted by Rajapaksa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Construction work on the multi million rupee\nInformation Technology Park at Hambantota was stopped after Yahapalana came in,\nobserved COPE in 2017. The construction work was stopped after completing three\nstories out of seven because the constructor failed to finish the work on time,\nsaid the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission. Several investors including\nIntel Corporation, IBM, two universities from India and Singapore, Tech One\nGlobal, and Mobitel had expressed willingness earlier to set up IT ventures at\nthis IT Park. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rajagiriya flyover, touted as Sri Lanka\nlongest flyover, a four lane structure, was completed in January 2018. It was\ninitiated by Rajapaksa. Yahapalana government had modified the plan and the\ntraffic jams are continuing despite the flyover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had made improvements to\nthe parks and central spaces, through the UDA. Daily\nMirror<\/em> of 5.5.17 had a two page spread on the\njogging tracks and walking paths round Colombo. There was Diyath Uyana opened\nin 2011, which was attracting scores of locals, non locals and also\ncyclists.  Crowds come flooding in, said\nthe report. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\nwas the Diyawanna jogging track, well lit by solar powered lamps and with\nbenches to sit and enjoy the breath taking view of Parliament and Diyawanna\noya. The Kumbulewewa jogging track which overlooks a picturesque stretch of paddy fields is\nlocated near the Diyawanna track. Occasionally, one may observe local farmers\ntending to their harvest.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nBellanwila jogging track also had benches and a breathtaking view of lake\naround Pillawa temple .The  Beddegana\nwetland park, was  a tranquil haven of 18\nhectares rich in lush foliage, marshy land home to several endemic birds\ndragonflies and butterflies. Urban wetland park Nawala, was used for jogging.\nIt had lotus shaped ponds. Independence Square is now a jogging and cycling\ntrack with an open air gym. Viharamaha Devi Park was well lit by solar powered\nlamps. There were public toilets. There were bins along the pathways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But these\nwalkways and cycling paths were neglected when Yahapalana government came to\npower. Under the Rajapaksa   government\nthese parks were looked after by the military, Yahapalana withdrew the army.  Authorities, such as RDA, Municipal\ncouncil,   and the   Provincial road development authority   were not prepared to look after them. Today\nthese parks and walkways are neglected. They are also dangerous, with snakes\nand crocodiles, complained users. \nBellanwila jogging track is going to rack and ruin, thousands used it,\nthey said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 450 meter-long Wattala exercise track   used by hundreds of residents daily for\nwalking, jogging and practicing yoga, \nwas destroyed in 2016  in a\nspectacular manner, at midnight with crowbars and bulldozers.   The\nsolar powdered lamps also went. It was alleged that the track was destroyed so\nthat a powerful insurance company could build a massive housing complex. The argument\nthat it was built on private land was dismissed. The SLLRDC said the exercise\ntrack had been built on a canal reservation area that came under the purview of\nthe SLLRDC and therefore it was state land.   The track was restored following public\noutcry, but\nit was no longer usable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Projects started by Mahinda Rajapaksa were not\ncompleted because Mahinda Rajapaksa in his greed for power failed to complete\nhis term of office. He had two more years to go.  If he had stayed on,   the projects he started would have been\ncompleted.  Now Yahapalana\ngovernment   is completing the projects\nstarted by Rajapaksa. Rajapaksa supporters cannot bear this.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former Minister\nof Prison Reforms and Rehabilitation Chandrasiri Gajadeera\naccused Yahapalana government of taking credit for constructing a modern prison\nto international standards at Angunakolapelessa. “Former Speaker Chamal\nRajapaksa and I laid the foundation stone for the Angunakolapelessa prison and\nall work was done by the previous government, but this government will open\nit   next month,” he said in\nFebruary 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A test run on the Matara-Beliatte\nstretch of the southern railway extension took place amidst cheers and boos, in\nJanuary 2019. A group of protesters, holding photographs of former\nPresident Mahinda Rajapaksa, delayed the start of the train at the\nBeliatta station by blocking the line. A  \nsecond   group stopped the train\nmidway, demanding compensation. A third group of Rajapaksa supporters\nprotested at the Bambarenda station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Matara-\nBeliatta line was completed, and the first train was ready to depart from Matara\nrailway station, in April 2019, these supporters turned up again. They put\nup a banner congratulating Mahinda Rajapaksa for initiating the project. Mahinda Rajapaksa supporters were highly\nworked up and it was a strong protest. Television cameras recorded Rajapaksa\nsupporters and Yahapalana supporters, yelling and hitting each other. This was shown\non evening news. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The matter\ndid not end there. Television news on 10.4.19 showed Mahinda Rajapaksa turning\nup at Matara railway station. He bought a ticket, got on the Matara- Beliatta\ntrain and sat down at a window seat. The Matara railway platform was bursting\nwith his supporters and as the train left Matara station, television cameras\nshowed Rajapaksa with his hand extended out of the window, greeting supporters and\npatting children\u2019s heads. Another throng of excited supporters were waiting at\nthe next station, Kekunadura.  This would\nhave been repeated at the three remaining stations, Bambarenda, Wevurukannala\nand Beliatta too. Mahinda Rajapaksa supporters, it appears, feel strongly about\nMahinda Rajapaksa.  (Continued) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS The Rajapaksa period saw several advances in the university sector. The Ocean University was established by Act No 31 of 2014 to provide graduate and diploma level training in fisheries, marine and nautical engineering.  It is located in Mattakuliya, Colombo. It offers degrees in Fisheries, Marine Science, Marine Engineering, and Transportation Management & […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kamalika-pieris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87140"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87140\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}