In 32 years by 2050, Sri Lanka will have a third international airport housed in Hingurakgoda, along with a Master Development plan that will witness Trincomalee being converted to a Metropolitan, the recently unleashed ‘Trincomalee Master Plan project’ of Surbana Jurong Consultants of Singapore which was presented to the the government highlights.

As per the plan, Trincomalee would also be repositioned as the Eastern Tourism Hub, by increasing regional connectivity through the development of the Colombo-Trincomalee economic corridor and the establishment of an international airport in Hingurakgoda. The Master Plan project proposal was handed over to Prime Minister Wickremesinghe on Tuesday (10^th July 2018) by Singaporean Consultancy group Surbana Jurong Consultants Ltd at Temple Trees.

Launching the proposed ambitious plan which will be witnessed the full completion by 2050 according to the Surbana Jurong Consultants of Singapore, Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had said that “Countries in the Bay of Bengal region will develop greatly within the next 20 years. Populations in that region will reach three billion by 2050. Therefore, we will have to develop Trincomalee as the Eastern gate”.

“Ships which use the Suez Canal to get to countries such as Singapore go past Hambantota which thus makes developing the Southern Port even more important” Prime Minister Wickremesinghe told reporters. He further pointed out that what was left now was for the government was to come up with a development plan for Jaffna.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe asserted that Colombo is important with the development of the West, East Africa, Western India and the development of Iran, while ships which pass through the Suez Canal to countries such as Singapore go past Hambantota, making the Southern Port also important.

Speaking at the event Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka, said that special attention would be paid to environmental protection and natural resource preservation. He further said that 11% of the plan consists of urban development while 89% of it would deal with wildlife, water and irrigation and environmental conservation.

Meanwhile speaking at the event Surbana Jurong Consultants Managing Director Philip Tan told that the Plan would witness the development of an international airport in Hingurakgoda, a new City Centre, multi-story parking centres, a amusement park, an international cricket stadium, several highways, specialized highways such as dedicated freight highways, a cruise terminal, container terminal at China Bay,an oil refinery and an LNG power plant. He further said that the entire Trincomalee project is to be completed by 2050.

According to the the Master Plan, first step would be the setting up of a special planning and development authority, which will be called the Master Plan Implementation Unit, which would be later upgraded to Trincomalee Metropolitan Planning and Development Authority.

The Trincomalee Master Plan envisions a gigantic development drive for the Trincomalee District and adjacent regions to make it the Eastern Gateway of Sri Lanka, making Trincomalee an export hub by creating a clean industrial ecosystem, which can add value to the already abundant agriculture, aquaculture, minerals and resources in the area. Accordingly, the Trincomalee region will also be an Eastern Logistics Centre through the economic opportunities gained as a result of the many Free Trade Agreements Sri Lanka has entered into with South and South East Asian nations, as well from maritime traffic in the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. 

- Reporting by Devendra Francis