Laying of the Foundation Stone for the Renovation of the Duraiappah Stadium in Jaffna through Government of India Grant Assistance of SLR 145 million

The foundation stone of the project to renovate the Duraiappah Stadium in Jaffna was laid by Hon’ble Basil Rajapaksa, Minister of Economic Development of Sri Lanka, Hon’ble Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Minister of Sports of Sri Lanka, and Mr. Y.K. Sinha, High Commissioner of India, at a ceremony on August 27, 2014.  Hon’ble Douglas Devananda, Minister of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development of Sri Lanka, Hon’ble G.A.Chandrasiri, Governor of Northern Province, Hon’ble C.V.Wigneswaran, Chief Minister of Northern Province, Hon’ble Yogeswary Patkunarajah, Mayor of Jaffna, Mr. A.M. Jayawickrama, Secretary, Ministry of Sports of Sri Lanka, Mrs. R.Wijialudchumi, Chief Secretary of Northern Province, Mr. Sathyaseelan, Provincial Secretary, Department of Sports, and other senior officials of the Government of Sri Lanka participated in the event.

 2.        The Duraiappah Stadium, named in honour of a former Mayor of Jaffna, the Late Alfred Thambirajah Duraiappah, is being renovated at a cost of SLR 145 million, and the project is scheduled to be completed by May 2015. The project involves renovation of the main pavilion and secondary pavilion, setting up of a gymnasium, setting up of a playground with 400m track, external works including perimeter fencing and gates, toilet blocks, water supply network and associated structures, stores and external waste & sewer disposal network, sprinkler system for the ground, flood light system for the playground, etc.

 3.    The contract for executing the renovation work has been awarded to M/s Wahid Construction. The project will be implemented under full grant assistance of the Government of India, in cooperation with the Ministry of Sports and the Jaffna Municipal Council.  Necessary technical expertise and project management services would be provided by the Government of Sri Lanka through Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau (CECB). 

 4.      Once completed, the renovated Stadium will provide the necessary infrastructure to promote sports and recreational activities, and benefit about 50,000 students from different schools and educational institutions in the Northern Province. By promoting sporting talent in the region, the project also aims to assist the overall development of the youth of the Northern Province.

 5.        As part of its Development Cooperation Partnership with Sri Lanka, the Government of India has attached high priority to education, research and sports. To support students from Sri Lanka to pursue higher education in Sri Lanka and in India, the Government of India offers 790 scholarships every year, which have been benefitting students across the Island. Other projects implemented to assist the education sector include setting up of 40 “Nenasalas” (e-Learning Centres) in Eastern, Western and Southern provinces, renovation of 79 war damaged schools in Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Vavuniya, supply of 1,260 computers and 218 laser printers to about 500 schools of the Eastern Province, setting up of a Siddha Faculty at Trincomalee, gifting of 110 buses to education institutions to assist school going children, setting up of nine language labs in each of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, and the setting up of Palmyrah Research Institute in Jaffna. India is currently implementing a project to set up 70 creches in the Estate sector and full-fledged Faculty of Agriculture and Faculty of Engineering at Kilinochchi. 

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