Breaking News 148

The Director-General of Health Services Dr. Asela Gunawardena has issued health guidelines to be followed after travel restrictions are relaxed tomorrow (June 21).

Social distancing must be maintained at all times as well as the practice of proper hygiene such as washing hands and wearing a face mask properly.

Further, only TWO persons from one family will be permitted to leave the house while the travel restrictions are lifted.

The inter-provincial travel bans will continue to be in place, even during the travel restriction relaxations.

The following are the restrictions that will be relaxed in general for all provinces and certain restrictions that will be imposed specifically on the Western Province.

State Minister Ajith Nivard Cabraal says that the Colombo Port City, the Hambantota Port and other new development projects will be key factors in taking Sri Lanka forward over the next few years.

He said that the Port City could have been established anywhere in Sri Lanka’s coastal belt, and that however it was decided that the Port City would be placed in Colombo because that is where “the greatest amount of reach” could be achieved.

“That is where the greatest amount of support could be provided to the country’s economy by having a new area developed in order to highlight the potential of Sri Lanka to the world.”

“We have done that. That part is now history. The land has been reclaimed, 269 hectares, the law has been passed, it was passed in parliament a few days ago. The infrastructure is now taking shape.”

“We need to now see that there is a steady inflow of investment that will come in to this area so that it can give a boost to the GDP of our country, the state minister said.

He made this observation today (June 09) while addressing the ‘Sri Lanka Investment Forum 2021’ organized by the Board of Investment, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, and Colombo Stock Exchange.

The State Minister of Money, Capital Markets and State Enterprise Reforms stated that once completed the port city would help Sri Lanka benefit by at least a new GDP contribution of around USD 4.5 billion that will support the country’s USD 80 billion economy, in the first few years.

He stated that over a period of time, maybe in the next 5-6 years, it could generate as much as USD 15 billion into Sri Lanka’s GDP. “That’s what the analysts have told us.”

“If we can get that right, you would see Sri Lanka’s macro fundamentals changing rapidly as well as in a manner that would be very, very significant.”

“So, I see the port city, the Hambantota port as well as the new developments we are talking about as being key factors in taking Sri Lanka forward over the next few years.”

He stated that they have an obligation and a very great desire to make that happen. “It won’t just happen unless we really work on that.”

The former Central Bank governor said that he believes, in the next few years, the Port City would provide massive opportunities of employment, investment and showcasing Sri Lanka to the world.

“That would need the support of all who are involved in the Sri Lankan story,” he said, while urging investors both local and foreign to take a hold of this opportunity as they would see tremendous value generated for them.

The state minister also rejected allegations that the port city is only for investors from a particular country and assured that they would welcome investors from anywhere in the world with open arms to be a part of this ‘great story’.

“There was a fallacy that it was only for the investors of a particular country. I want to here and now dispel that myth that it is not so. We are inviting investors from all over the world. Wherever in the world you are today, please come look at the potential of the port city, be a part of the port city.”

“It is part of the growth story of Asia that we don’t want you to miss,” he said.

Sri Lanka received another consignment of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines early this morning (June 09), says State Minister of Production, Supply and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals Prof. Channa Jayasumana.

Ada Derana correspondent said a charter flight carrying 1 million doses of the China-developed jab had touched down at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake at around 5.00 am.

The newly-received jabs are expected to be transported to the central vaccine storage complex at the Ministry of Health.

As per official data, Sri Lanka has received a total of 3.1 million Sinopharm vaccines so far since the arrival of the first consignment in late January this year.

Upon the receipt of 1 million Sinopharm vaccines from China on June 06, the national inoculation drive was extended to 12 more districts on Tuesday (June 08): Matale, Nuwara-Eliya, Kegalle, Trincomalee, Hambantota, Badulla, Anuradhapura, Puttalam, Ampara, Batticaloa, Monaragala and Polonnaruwa.

Meanwhile, the new Sinopharm vaccines stocks arrived in Sri Lanka have also enabled the administration of the second dose.

According to the Epidemiology Unit’s progress report on COVID-19 immunization, 1,033,028 people in total have received the first dose of Sinopharm vaccines and 166 have been fully vaccinated with the China-made jab.

The Yala National Park will open today for the French naval crew members who arrived in the country yesterday (7), the Wild Life sources confirmed.

They said the naval crew members to visit the national park under a ‘Bio Safety Bubble’.

According to reports, 90 naval members will be assigned as a group to 18 safari jeeps today, while another 156 will be assigned to Udawalawa National Park.

Another group of 90 naval members will be assigned for the tour in the Udawalawa National Park tomorrow (9) with 18 safari jeeps. Meanwhile, 80 naval members have been scheduled to tour the Habarana Eco Park or Minneriya National Park as an alternative.

The delegation, which consists of 750 French crew members arrived in two vessels yesterday (7) and will  remain in the island until June 11.

The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) said the Sri Lanka Foreign Affairs Ministry and the French Embassy in Sri Lanka have agreed on a diplomatic level to facilitate crew members of two French vessels visiting Sri Lanka.

They said the Foreign Affairs Ministry wrote to the Secretaries of Health and Tourism on May 24 informing them about the delegation of French crew members arriving in two vessels from June 7-11 to visit Sri Lanka under a ‘Bio Safety Bubble’.

Furthermore, the Commissioner General of the Excise Department directed all Assistant Commissioners to grant permission to operate the liquor licenses of the hotels where the French crew members were lodging in with controlled access for locals during the travel restriction period. (Chaturanga Samarawickrama)

Sri Lanka is facing its worst beach pollution crisis as tonnes of plastic waste from a burning container ship wash ashore, a senior environment official said Saturday.

Fishermen have been banned from an 80-kilometre (50-mile) stretch of coast near the Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl as an international firefighting operation went into a 10th day.

“There is smoke and intermittent flames seen from the ship,” navy spokesman Captain Indika de Silva told AFP. “However, the vessel is stable and it is still in anchorage.”

Authorities are more worried about millions of polyethylene pellets washing up on beaches and threatening fish-breeding shallow waters.

The affected seafront is known for its crabs and jumbo prawns as well as its tourist beaches.

“This is probably the worst beach pollution in our history,” said Dharshani Lahandapura, head of Sri Lanka’s Marine Environment and Protection Authority (MEPA).

Thousands of military and security personnel in hazmat suits are cleaning the beaches of plastic waste and other debris from the ship, which caught fire on May 20.

The impact on mangroves, lagoons and marine wildlife in the region was being assessed.

The jobs of thousands of fishermen are at risk, according to authorities, and the MEPA said a possible oil leak would only add to the devastation.

Much of the ship’s cargo, including 25 tonnes of nitric acid, sodium hydroxide, lubricants and other chemicals, appeared to have been destroyed in the fire, officials said.

The X-Press Pearl caught fire as it waited to enter Colombo harbour and remains anchored just outside the port.

Authorities believe the fire was caused by a nitric acid leak that the crew had been aware of since May 11. The 25-member crew were evacuated after an explosion on the vessel.

Four Indian ships have joined Sri Lanka’s navy in the battle to contain the fire. Two vessels were equipped to deal with an oil slick, officials said.

Salvage operations are being led by the Dutch company SMIT, which has sent specialist fire-fighting tugs.

SMIT was also involved in dousing a burning oil tanker off Sri Lanka’s east coast last September after an engine room explosion that killed a crew member.

The fire on the New Diamond tanker took more than a week to put out and left a 40-kilometre (25-mile) long oil spill. Sri Lanka has demanded the owners pay $17 million for the clean-up.

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka recorded a total of 2,584 COVID-19 cases on Thursday (27).

2,572 of these cases were from the Post-New Year Cluster and the remaining 12 were those who returned from overseas and tested positive for the coronavirus.