British, French and German Envoys in joint trip to south

By Cheranka Mendis

The Ambassadors of Germany and France along with the British High Commissioner are on a two-day visit to Hambantota and are scheduled to visit key development areas during the period.

British High Commissioner John Rankin, German Ambassador Dr. Jürgen Morhard, and French Ambassador Christine Robichon will visit the District Secretariat of Hambantota today and will hold meetings with the Hambantota Chamber of Commerce. They are also planning to visit the International Convention Centre.

Tomorrow, the representatives will visit the Shangri-La Project development site, Hambantota Port, Mattala Airport, and the famed Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium.

With the conclusion of all the Hambantota development projects that are currently underway, the town is expected to witness a major facelift and is anticipated to be an economic focal point in the country’s economy. The development projects were initiated under the ‘Mahinda Chinthana’.

From the sites that are to be visited, the International Convention Centre spans across 28 acres of land in Siribopura and is expected to be the first-ever state-of-the-art convention centre built outside Colombo with facilities for conferences and conventions. The budgeted cost for the project was US$ 15.3 million.

The Hong Kong-based Shangri-La investment in Hambantota is the second investment under the company for a luxury hotel. The first is the hotel that will come up in the land that runs parallel to the Galle Face Green.

The port is being developed to serve as a service and industrial port while the Mattala International Airport is expected to be declared open in March this year, according to Government Information reports in January.