1. The Hon’ble Minister of External Affairs of India, Mr. S.M. Krishna, handed over the first lot of houses to the beneficiaries under the pilot project for 1000 houses on Wednesday, 18 January, 2012 at Nalavadi, Ariyalai, Jaffna. In a symbolic gesture, he also handed over some cycles to idPs and formally announced the completion of the removal of wrecks at KKS Harbour, at a ceremony organized in front of the Jaffna Public Library. Hon’ble Basil Rajapaksa, Minister of Economic Development, Prof. G.L. Peiris, Minister of External Affairs, Hon’ble Douglas Devananda, Minister of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development, Hon’ble Governor of Northern Province Maj. Gen. Chandrasiri, High Commissioner of India Mr. Ashok K. Kantha and Consul General of India Mr. V. Mahalingam attended the event.

2.   Speaking at the ceremony, the Hon’ble Minister expressed his pleasure at visiting Jaffna again, recalling his last visit in November 2010 to launch the 1000 houses pilot project at Ariyalai and to inaugurate the Consulate General of India, Jaffna. He noted that he had signed a day earlier, along with Hon. G.L. Peiris, the External Affairs Minister of Sri Lanka, a MOU to construct 49,000 houses under Phase-II of the Indian Housing Project, involving a grant assistance of US$ 260 million from India. He emphasized that the housing Project was one of the largest grant assistance projects undertaken by the Government of India in any part of the world, and was in implementation of the commitment made by the Prime Minister of India, H.E. Dr. Manmohan Singh, to construct 50,000 houses in Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka, during the visit of H.E. President Mahinda Rajapaksa to India in June 2010. The Hon’ble Minister also underlined the commitment of both sides to adopt best practices, particularly in respect of beneficiary selection and grievance handling.

3.     The project is expected to take three years to complete, and will have the following three components:

(a)     Reconstruction of 38,000 houses under the owner-driven model for Internally Displaced Persons (idPs);

(b)     Repairs of 5,000 houses under the owner-driven model for idPs; and

(c)     Construction of 6,000 houses under the agency-driven model for vulnerable sections of idPs in the Northern and Eastern provinces and for Indian-origin Tamils in the Central and Uva Provinces.

4.     The Hon’ble Minister remarked that the Indian initiative to distribute 10,000 bicycles to the returning idPs in the five districts of the Northern Province would anchor their return by enhancing their livelihood prospects. The project was conceived as per the priorities identified in consultation with the Government of Sri Lanka, with the objective to cater to the transportation needs of persons being resettled and to aid revival of their livelihoods. Following an open tendering process for identification and selection of a suitable supplier, the High Commission of India awarded the contract to a leading Indian manufacturer, Atlas Cycles, in September 2011. The bicycles are being shipped from India to Colombo in knocked-down kits and then transported to Northern Province, where idPs are trained and employed to assemble them at a permanent assembly unit in Vavuniya. The assembly unit will continue to function after the completion of this supply order, thereby providing employment opportunities to local people on a longer-term basis. As a further spin-off to this project, UNHCR ( associated with this project as the implementation partner) and other interested agencies propose to train beneficiaries in repair of bicycles and provide them with kits to set up small repair facilities as a source of livelihood. The total cost of the project is about 67 million Sri Lankan rupees.

5.    The Hon’ble Minister also announced the completion of wreck removal work at the KKS Harbour at a cost of 19 million US Dollars. This is expected to facilitate trade-connectivity with the Jaffna peninsula and revive economic activity in Northern Province. He also assured that India stood ready to provide further assistance for the next phase of the project, including dredging and the rehabilitation of the pier and port infrastructure.

6.   The Hon’ble Minister also referred to the rehabilitation of Atchchuvely Industrial Zone being undertaken by India to create employment opportunities in the Northern Province and to provide a platform for industrial development of Jaffna, the renovation of Duraiyappah Stadium and constructing the Jaffna Cultural Centre. He also expressed India’s willingness to assist the Government of Sri Lanka in developing Palaly as a civilian airport and enhancing regional connectivity, as part of India’s overall commitment to Sri Lanka’s reconstruction and development flowing the end of armed conflict.

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