Features
“TRAVEL SAFE – TRAVEL CHEAP – TRAVEL BY RAIL.”
By Rohan Abeygunawardena
ACMA, CGMA: Financial and Management Consultant.
abeyrohan@gmail.com
(This article is dedicated to all those officers and other employees who worked under the late Mr. Rampala, during “Golden Era “of the CGR from the late 1940s’ to 1970 including my father the late Mr. G.A.V. Abeygunawardena)
Above was a marketing campaign slogan based on a concept of the legendary leader of Ceylon Government Railway (CGR) B.D. Rampala to attract passengers for train travel.
Rampala was the first Ceylonese Chief Mechanical Engineer from 1949 and then was appointed to the newly created post of General Manager of Railway (GMR) in 1955. He joined CGR in 1934 as a Junior Mechanical Engineer after completing his engineering apprenticeship at the Colombo University College. In 1956, the Institution of Locomotive Engineers in London recognised him as the finest diesel engineer in Asia at the time (Wikipedia.)
History of Sri Lanka Railway
It was the coffee planters who first felt the need to construct a railroad system in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) in 1842. Under pressure from this elite group of the crown colony, Ceylon Railway Company (CRC) was established in 1845 under the Chairmanship of Phillip Anstruther, the Chief Secretary of Ceylon. The contractor William Thomas Doyne was selected for constructing the 79-mile (123 km) Colombo Kandy railway line and later it was realised that the project could not be completed within the original estimate of £856,557. In 1861, Ceylon Government Railway (CGR) was established as a department and took over the construction work. Guilford Lindsey Molesworth, an experienced railway engineer from London, was appointed as the Director General of the CGR.
It took nearly 22 years to build the first stretch of railroad and run the first train from Colombo to Ambepussa in December 1864. It was then extended to Kandy in 1867, the main request of British Planters. Thereafter to Nawalapitiya, Nanuoya, Bandarawella, and Badulla by 1924. However by 1928, the Matale line, the Kankasanturai (Northern Line), the Southern Coast Line, the Mannar Line, the Kelani Valley Line, the Puttalam Line, the Batticaloa and Trincomalee lines were added to the network.
Golden Era of Sri Lanka Railway
Visionary Rampala had a helicopter view of the organisation. During his tenure as the GMR many modernisation programmes were introduced. He had systematically planned to replace British-built steam locomotives with Diesel locomotives over a 20-year period. Five G12 Diesel locomotives, gifted by the Canadian Government, in 1954, were utilised to run Sri Lanka’s most famous trains, the Udarata Menike, the Yal Devi, and the Ruhunu Kumari, the three sisters on rails.
Emphasising punctuality and comfort, major stations outside Colombo were upgraded during the Rampala era. He also introduced an electronic signal system controlled by a centralised traffic control panel in Maradana, which greatly improved safety. In order to popularise rail travel he carried out a marketing exercise of the railway service through a slogan “Travel Safe – Travel Cheap – Travel by Rail.” The objective of this marketing campaign was to attract non-traditional rail passengers, such as women and children, and increase the market share of travellers and improve income of CGR.
Rampala tenure is considered as the ‘Golden Era of Sri Lanka Railways.’ He successfully conducted the grand Centenary Celebrations held in 1964. The main highlight was a refurbished old steam engine driven train, with old carriages, operating from the Colombo Terminus station of Olcott Mawatha to Ambepussa, carrying passengers, driver and guard dressed in late 19th century attire. The train left around 8 a.m. followed by a diesel engine, driven modern train carrying CGR employees and their immediate family members. The writer who was just 14 years was lucky enough to travel in that train with his father who was an officer in the CGR. An exhibition of model trains was also held at Maradana head office for the public. Some of the models were locally made by railroad enthusiasts and CGR engineers while others were imported models owned by locals and foreigners.
In spite of an economic decline in the country Sri Lanka Railways (SLR) continued with the numbers of its passenger services and enjoyed nearly 38% of freight transportation in the early seventies.
But with the introduction of the open economy, the road transportation systems improved and private road transport services that provided door-to-door or warehouse-to-warehouse service captured a bigger chunk of the freight service market of the country. The three-decades-long civil war, non-introduction of technological innovations that improved railway travel worldwide, issues of travel time, reliability, and comfort plagued Sri Lanka Railways said the Chief Engineer (Signal and Telecomunications) Dhammika Jayasundara who delivered the B.D. Rampala memorial lecture in 2017.
US the world leader of railway
transportation:
The US had the best railway transportation system in the world, prior to World War II, with an operating route length over 250,000 km. But after the war, the American auto industry owners came out with a new concept ‘’Freedom on Wheels’’ to get people to use cars. This concept was to promote motor car industry and propagated by the companies in the auto and oil industries to enhance their profits. Initially, they bought up all the street cars i. e. trolleybuses and Tramcars relegating them to junkyards, and embarked on increasing the motor car production.
The government under President Eisenhower, signed a Bill to create the “The National Interstate System’’ and allocated funds for the construction of 41,000 miles of highways and the US shifted from a rail served country to auto dependent nation by the mid-sixties. They dedicated a huge amount of dollars to the construction of automobile infrastructure.
By 2019, the US averaged about 850 cars per one thousand inhabitants. Many countries in the west and Asia emulated the US and constructed highways. Indians, on the other hand continued to improve the railroad transportation system over the years. The Average Sri Lankan was dreaming of owning a car and when the economy was opened up in the late seventies, an influx of motorcars, motorcycles and other vehicles, both brand new and used, invaded the country.
Similarly, the expansion of air travel took place since the fifties, not only in the US but also in other countries. In the US internal air service systems were expanded rapidly for travel between cities.
In Sri Lanka too the government embarked on a project to improve road transport. During the Civil War it was on a low profile but increased construction of highways or express ways after the war from 2009.
Recent developments;
An efficient transport system is an indispensable component of a modern country, no doubt. They provide economic and social opportunities and benefits that result in positive multiplier effects such as better accessibility to markets, employment, and additional investments. Recently, this writer was approached by a group of industrialists to draw up a concept note to obtain land and other facilities from the authorities to set up new factories. One important requirement they emphasised was that location of the land should be close to an expressway. Since they have been into exports this is a fair request as their finished products should be moved to ports and airports as quickly as possible for shipping.
With the development of highways, especially expressways, Sri Lanka Railways (SLR), the market share of passenger and goods transportation has considerably dropped. Chief Engineer Dhammika Jayasundara in his 2017 lecture stated that while SLR’s share of passenger transportation market was only about 5% and goods transportation market share was around 0.3%. It would definitely have deteriorated further by now.
An opportunity for SLR:
The US is reassessing its transport systems at present. They have realised that the country is running out of space to expand the highways. There are limits at airports and aviation congestion is also an acute problem. Looking out for a solution, the US has now realised a better railway system is the best option.
But in today’s global economy ‘’time-saving methods” and “reduction of greenhouse gases” are two important factors when considering development projects. Therefore, electrified high-speed train is the best option to switch from air traffic and vehicles. A survey conducted indicates 71% of the younger generation (18 to 44) in the US prefer travelling by high-speed trains if available. Train systems reaching top speed of over 175 to 240 km per hour is generally considered high-speed. A plan is now in place to build a 27,000 km national high-speed rail system in four phases by 2030. The first project is to connect San Francisco to Los Angeles (about 613km) in less than three hours at a speed of about 350km/h by 2033.
When a high-speed train was introduced between Madrid–Barcelona in Spain in 2008, it took 46% of the traffic, grounding fuel-guzzling, carbon-emitting aircrafts across Spain. This high-speed train pulled by an aerodynamic engine with noses shaped like a duck-billed platypus covers 621km trip in two and half hours at a maximum speed of 350 km/h. The train has the capacity to carry 430 passengers per trip and operates four trips a day. This is an eye-opener to the Americans as well as transport authorities of other countries.
The first high-speed train the Tōkaidō Shinkansen, began operations in Japan in 1964 and was widely known as the ‘bullet train’. France commenced their first high-speed train in 1981 and as of June 2021 had a network 2,800 km.
In many developed countries, faced with issues such as aging population, rising fuel prices, increasing urbanization, increasing traffic congestion, rising roadway expansion costs, changing consumer preferences and increasing health and environmental concerns are shifting travel demand from automobile to alternative modes. Motor vehicles are the greatest contributor to urban air pollution, leading to health problems, worse than smoking and the other factor is deaths through road accidents.
Likely alternative is the high-speed train. This is the most cost-effective transportation mode for moving large numbers of people and compared to road and air transportation less risky as far as accidents are concerned. Today, high-speed train systems are being introduced all over the world in countries like India, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran and Morocco. China is the world leader in the construction of high-speed railway systems. By the end of 2020, the Chinese had 37,900 km of high-speed rail lines in service, the longest in the world.
Long-term- plan for SLR
Sri Lanka Railways should study the changing nature of transportation system in developed countries. Since our island nation does not have to cover distances like in the countries mentioned above, railway authorities benchmark a country like Denmark with an area of 42,933 sq. km and a population of 5.8 million. The first ever high-speed train on Copenhagen–Ringsted line commenced on the 31st May 2019 covering 60 km. It has a maximum speed of 250 km/h and covers the trip within 35 minutes. The project received approval from the Danish Parliament in 2010 and was completed in 2019 at a cost of US$ 1.83 billion.
In Sri Lanka, the fastest train service is between Colombo and Beliatta covering 158 km with a maximum speed of 120 km/h. The fastest train ‘Galu Kumari’ takes three and a half hours to cover this distance.
Future generation of sophisticated and knowledgeable Sri Lankans are bound to switch over to train travel and will demand much faster mobility between cities. For example,
if Colombo Jaffna (304 km) travelling can be completed within two hours, instead of present eight hours, there will be lot of economic and social benefits to the country including communal harmony through better interaction. Such speedy travel can only be achieved by rail road or costly air travel, not by motor road vehicles.
However, the capital cost of introducing a High-Speed Railway (HSR) project is very high. The cost structure is mainly divided into costs associated to the infrastructure, and the ones associated with the rolling stock. While infrastructure costs include investments in construction and maintenance of the railroad, the cost of acquisition, operation and maintenance of rolling stock is determined by its technical specifications. SLR engineers and other experts should work out specification suitable for Sri Lanka.
It is necessary for SLR official to take into account the impact on wildlife when planning high-speed train track which British planners had not taken into account during colonial period. As a result, many elephants collide with fast moving trains and perish. According to the Department of Wildlife figures, 15 elephants were killed by trains in 2018, almost more than double the previous year (Mark Saunokonoko – 07 Jan., 2019.) It may be possible for trains to run on cement pillars where the elephant corridors are located.
Taking into consideration the distance from Colombo to Beliatta (158km), Jaffna (304 km) and Kandy (120km) SLR should plan for a total distance of 582 km of high-speed train service. A ballpark figure extrapolated on the basis of Copenhagen–Ringsted line construction, the total cost would be approximately US$ 18 billion. If planned for 20 years this is an average investment of about US$ 900 million per year. The government could approach funding agencies such as the World Bank (WB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB),, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) funding of the project and to carry out a feasibility study.
The implementation of this project depends on the development of the energy sector. Best option is the development of solar power which can provide free electricity to all, according to renowned Sri Lankan scientist, Prof. Ravi Silva, Director, Advanced Technology Institute at the University of Surrey, who was awarded a CBE for his services to Science, Education and Research. (Reference below)
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is also keen to attract large scale investments in renewable energy, particularly in solar, wind and biomass, over the coming decades.
One may ask whether a country facing economic problems and borrowing crisis should embark on a project of this nature. The answer is in the affirmative. As Asia is expected to rebound faster compared to other regions after the global recession and the pandemic, Sri Lanka has an opportunity to attract investment in the long term. But such investment should be futuristic and in projects that have a greater payoff in the future. The ‘Mahawali Project’ was to be completed in 35 years, but it was telescoped into five years. Similarly, the speed-train project should be a national policy long-term plan, and depending on the economy can be accelerated.
The development of high-speed train does not mean that the government and the Road Development Authority should abandon the development plan of the High Mobility Network or construction of Expressways. It is necessary at present for better connectivity. But a futuristic plan for Sri Lanka Railways should be based on changes taking place, world over.
The implementation of such a modernisation project will help realise the vision of the late B.D. Rampala ‘Travel Safe – Travel Cheap – Travel by Rail’. It will also justify the need to continue with the railway services without heavy subsidies and be a burden on taxpayers’ money.
References;
(Let the Sun Shine: Do not let a photon go to waste without benefit to mankind https://www.timesonline.lk/opinion/let-the-sun-shine-do-not-let-a-photon-go-to-waste-without-benefit-to-mankind/158-1120004 .)
by Dr Gotabhya Ranasinghe
Senior Consultant Cardiologist
National Hospital Sri Lanka
When we sought a meeting with Hon Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Health, he graciously cleared his busy schedule to accommodate us. Renowned for his attentive listening and deep understanding, Minister Pathirana is dedicated to advancing the health sector. His openness and transparency exemplify the qualities of an exemplary politician and minister.
Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the current Health Secretary, demonstrates both commendable enthusiasm and unwavering support. This combination of attributes makes him a highly compatible colleague for the esteemed Minister of Health.
Our discussion centered on a project that has been in the works for the past 30 years, one that no other minister had managed to advance.
Minister Pathirana, however, recognized the project’s significance and its potential to revolutionize care for heart patients.
The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the premises of the National Hospital Colombo. The project’s location within the premises of the National Hospital underscores its importance and relevance to the healthcare infrastructure of the nation.
This facility will include a cardiology building and a tertiary care center, equipped with the latest technology to handle and treat all types of heart-related conditions and surgeries.
Securing funding was a major milestone for this initiative. Minister Pathirana successfully obtained approval for a $40 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. With the funding in place, the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in September this year, and construction will begin in January 2025.
This project guarantees a consistent and uninterrupted supply of stents and related medications for heart patients. As a result, patients will have timely access to essential medical supplies during their treatment and recovery. By securing these critical resources, the project aims to enhance patient outcomes, minimize treatment delays, and maintain the highest standards of cardiac care.
Upon its fruition, this monumental building will serve as a beacon of hope and healing, symbolizing the unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier society.We anticipate a future marked by significant progress and positive outcomes in Sri Lanka’s cardiovascular treatment landscape within the foreseeable timeframe.
by Fr. Emmanuel Fernando, OMI
Jesuit Fr. Aloysius Pieris (affectionately called Fr. Aloy) celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2024 and I, as the editor of our Oblate Journal, THE MISSIONARY OBLATE had gone to press by that time. Immediately I decided to publish an article, appreciating the untiring selfless services he continues to offer for inter-Faith dialogue, the renewal of the Catholic Church, his concern for the poor and the suffering Sri Lankan masses and to me, the present writer.
It was in 1988, when I was appointed Director of the Oblate Scholastics at Ampitiya by the then Oblate Provincial Fr. Anselm Silva, that I came to know Fr. Aloy more closely. Knowing well his expertise in matters spiritual, theological, Indological and pastoral, and with the collaborative spirit of my companion-formators, our Oblate Scholastics were sent to Tulana, the Research and Encounter Centre, Kelaniya, of which he is the Founder-Director, for ‘exposure-programmes’ on matters spiritual, biblical, theological and pastoral. Some of these dimensions according to my view and that of my companion-formators, were not available at the National Seminary, Ampitiya.
Ever since that time, our Oblate formators/ accompaniers at the Oblate Scholasticate, Ampitiya , have continued to send our Oblate Scholastics to Tulana Centre for deepening their insights and convictions regarding matters needed to serve the people in today’s context. Fr. Aloy also had tried very enthusiastically with the Oblate team headed by Frs. Oswald Firth and Clement Waidyasekara to begin a Theologate, directed by the Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka, for the contextual formation/ accompaniment of their members. It should very well be a desired goal of the Leaders / Provincials of the Religious Congregations.
Besides being a formator/accompanier at the Oblate Scholasticate, I was entrusted also with the task of editing and publishing our Oblate journal, ‘The Missionary Oblate’. To maintain the quality of the journal I continue to depend on Fr. Aloy for his thought-provoking and stimulating articles on Biblical Spirituality, Biblical Theology and Ecclesiology. I am very grateful to him for his generous assistance. Of late, his writings on renewal of the Church, initiated by Pope St. John XX111 and continued by Pope Francis through the Synodal path, published in our Oblate journal, enable our readers to focus their attention also on the needed renewal in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Aloy appreciated very much the Synodal path adopted by the Jesuit Pope Francis for the renewal of the Church, rooted very much on prayerful discernment. In my Religious and presbyteral life, Fr.Aloy continues to be my spiritual animator / guide and ongoing formator / acccompanier.
Fr. Aloysius Pieris, BA Hons (Lond), LPh (SHC, India), STL (PFT, Naples), PhD (SLU/VC), ThD (Tilburg), D.Ltt (KU), has been one of the eminent Asian theologians well recognized internationally and one who has lectured and held visiting chairs in many universities both in the West and in the East. Many members of Religious Congregations from Asian countries have benefited from his lectures and guidance in the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Manila, Philippines. He had been a Theologian consulted by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences for many years. During his professorship at the Gregorian University in Rome, he was called to be a member of a special group of advisers on other religions consulted by Pope Paul VI.
Fr. Aloy is the author of more than 30 books and well over 500 Research Papers. Some of his books and articles have been translated and published in several countries. Among those books, one can find the following: 1) The Genesis of an Asian Theology of Liberation (An Autobiographical Excursus on the Art of Theologising in Asia, 2) An Asian Theology of Liberation, 3) Providential Timeliness of Vatican 11 (a long-overdue halt to a scandalous millennium, 4) Give Vatican 11 a chance, 5) Leadership in the Church, 6) Relishing our faith in working for justice (Themes for study and discussion), 7) A Message meant mainly, not exclusively for Jesuits (Background information necessary for helping Francis renew the Church), 8) Lent in Lanka (Reflections and Resolutions, 9) Love meets wisdom (A Christian Experience of Buddhism, 10) Fire and Water 11) God’s Reign for God’s poor, 12) Our Unhiddden Agenda (How we Jesuits work, pray and form our men). He is also the Editor of two journals, Vagdevi, Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue, New Series.
Fr. Aloy has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London and a Ph.D in Buddhist Philosophy from the University of Sri Lankan, Vidyodaya Campus. On Nov. 23, 2019, he was awarded the prestigious honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, the Most Venerable Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Thera.
Fr. Aloy continues to be a promoter of Gospel values and virtues. Justice as a constitutive dimension of love and social concern for the downtrodden masses are very much noted in his life and work. He had very much appreciated the commitment of the late Fr. Joseph (Joe) Fernando, the National Director of the Social and Economic Centre (SEDEC) for the poor.
In Sri Lanka, a few religious Congregations – the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Oblates – have invited him to animate their members especially during their Provincial Congresses, Chapters and International Conferences. The mainline Christian Churches also have sought his advice and followed his seminars. I, for one, regret very much, that the Sri Lankan authorities of the Catholic Church –today’s Hierarchy—- have not sought Fr.
Aloy’s expertise for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and thus have not benefited from the immense store of wisdom and insight that he can offer to our local Church while the Sri Lankan bishops who governed the Catholic church in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (Edmund Fernando OMI, Anthony de Saram, Leo Nanayakkara OSB, Frank Marcus Fernando, Paul Perera,) visited him and consulted him on many matters. Among the Tamil Bishops, Bishop Rayappu Joseph was keeping close contact with him and Bishop J. Deogupillai hosted him and his team visiting him after the horrible Black July massacre of Tamils.
Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
By Gomi Senadhira
senadhiragomi@gmail.com
“You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the ultimate result of this is the country becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet.” – President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 2024 Budget speech
Any Sri Lankan would agree with the above words of President Wickremesinghe on the false promises our politicians and officials make and the fairy tales they narrate which bankrupted this country. So, to understand this, let’s look at one such fairy tale with lots of false promises; Ranil Wickremesinghe’s greatest achievement in the area of international trade and investment promotion during the Yahapalana period, Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA).
It is appropriate and timely to do it now as Finance Minister Wickremesinghe has just presented to parliament a bill on the National Policy on Economic Transformation which includes the establishment of an Office for International Trade and the Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade.
Was SLSFTA a “Cleverly negotiated Free Trade Agreement” as stated by the (former) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate on the SLSFTA in July 2018, or a colossal blunder covered up with lies, false promises, and fairy tales? After SLSFTA was signed there were a number of fairy tales published on this agreement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International, Institute of Policy Studies, and others.
However, for this article, I would like to limit my comments to the speech by Minister Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate, and the two most important areas in the agreement which were covered up with lies, fairy tales, and false promises, namely: revenue loss for Sri Lanka and Investment from Singapore. On the other important area, “Waste products dumping” I do not want to comment here as I have written extensively on the issue.
1. The revenue loss
During the Parliamentary Debate in July 2018, Minister Samarawickrama stated “…. let me reiterate that this FTA with Singapore has been very cleverly negotiated by us…. The liberalisation programme under this FTA has been carefully designed to have the least impact on domestic industry and revenue collection. We have included all revenue sensitive items in the negative list of items which will not be subject to removal of tariff. Therefore, 97.8% revenue from Customs duty is protected. Our tariff liberalisation will take place over a period of 12-15 years! In fact, the revenue earned through tariffs on goods imported from Singapore last year was Rs. 35 billion.
The revenue loss for over the next 15 years due to the FTA is only Rs. 733 million– which when annualised, on average, is just Rs. 51 million. That is just 0.14% per year! So anyone who claims the Singapore FTA causes revenue loss to the Government cannot do basic arithmetic! Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I call on my fellow members of this House – don’t mislead the public with baseless criticism that is not grounded in facts. Don’t look at petty politics and use these issues for your own political survival.”
I was surprised to read the minister’s speech because an article published in January 2018 in “The Straits Times“, based on information released by the Singaporean Negotiators stated, “…. With the FTA, tariff savings for Singapore exports are estimated to hit $10 million annually“.
As the annual tariff savings (that is the revenue loss for Sri Lanka) calculated by the Singaporean Negotiators, Singaporean $ 10 million (Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 million in 2018) was way above the rupees’ 733 million revenue loss for 15 years estimated by the Sri Lankan negotiators, it was clear to any observer that one of the parties to the agreement had not done the basic arithmetic!
Six years later, according to a report published by “The Morning” newspaper, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 7th May 2024, Mr Samarawickrama’s chief trade negotiator K.J. Weerasinghehad had admitted “…. that forecasted revenue loss for the Government of Sri Lanka through the Singapore FTA is Rs. 450 million in 2023 and Rs. 1.3 billion in 2024.”
If these numbers are correct, as tariff liberalisation under the SLSFTA has just started, we will pass Rs 2 billion very soon. Then, the question is how Sri Lanka’s trade negotiators made such a colossal blunder. Didn’t they do their basic arithmetic? If they didn’t know how to do basic arithmetic they should have at least done their basic readings. For example, the headline of the article published in The Straits Times in January 2018 was “Singapore, Sri Lanka sign FTA, annual savings of $10m expected”.
Anyway, as Sri Lanka’s chief negotiator reiterated at the COPF meeting that “…. since 99% of the tariffs in Singapore have zero rates of duty, Sri Lanka has agreed on 80% tariff liberalisation over a period of 15 years while expecting Singapore investments to address the imbalance in trade,” let’s turn towards investment.
Investment from Singapore
In July 2018, speaking during the Parliamentary Debate on the FTA this is what Minister Malik Samarawickrama stated on investment from Singapore, “Already, thanks to this FTA, in just the past two-and-a-half months since the agreement came into effect we have received a proposal from Singapore for investment amounting to $ 14.8 billion in an oil refinery for export of petroleum products. In addition, we have proposals for a steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million), sugar refinery ($ 200 million). This adds up to more than $ 16.05 billion in the pipeline on these projects alone.
And all of these projects will create thousands of more jobs for our people. In principle approval has already been granted by the BOI and the investors are awaiting the release of land the environmental approvals to commence the project.
I request the Opposition and those with vested interests to change their narrow-minded thinking and join us to develop our country. We must always look at what is best for the whole community, not just the few who may oppose. We owe it to our people to courageously take decisions that will change their lives for the better.”
According to the media report I quoted earlier, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chief Negotiator Weerasinghe has admitted that Sri Lanka was not happy with overall Singapore investments that have come in the past few years in return for the trade liberalisation under the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. He has added that between 2021 and 2023 the total investment from Singapore had been around $162 million!
What happened to those projects worth $16 billion negotiated, thanks to the SLSFTA, in just the two-and-a-half months after the agreement came into effect and approved by the BOI? I do not know about the steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million) and sugar refinery ($ 200 million).
However, story of the multibillion-dollar investment in the Petroleum Refinery unfolded in a manner that would qualify it as the best fairy tale with false promises presented by our politicians and the officials, prior to 2019 elections.
Though many Sri Lankans got to know, through the media which repeatedly highlighted a plethora of issues surrounding the project and the questionable credentials of the Singaporean investor, the construction work on the Mirrijiwela Oil Refinery along with the cement factory began on the24th of March 2019 with a bang and Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his ministers along with the foreign and local dignitaries laid the foundation stones.
That was few months before the 2019 Presidential elections. Inaugurating the construction work Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the projects will create thousands of job opportunities in the area and surrounding districts.
The oil refinery, which was to be built over 200 acres of land, with the capacity to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was to generate US$7 billion of exports and create 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The construction of the refinery was to be completed in 44 months. Four years later, in August 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the agreement with the investors of the refinery as the project has not been implemented! Can they explain to the country how much money was wasted to produce that fairy tale?
It is obvious that the President, ministers, and officials had made huge blunders and had deliberately misled the public and the parliament on the revenue loss and potential investment from SLSFTA with fairy tales and false promises.
As the president himself said, a country cannot be developed by making false promises or with fairy tales and these false promises and fairy tales had bankrupted the country. “Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet”.
(The writer, a specialist and an activist on trade and development issues . )
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