Hambantota promises Commonwealth Games overhaul

Sri Lanka has ambitious plans to transform a plot of dense jungle five hours from the capital Colombo into a modern sporting venue that will host the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

 

Hambantota and Australia’s Gold Coast are the only bidders for the 2018 event, having lodged their bids with the Commonwealth Games Federation in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday. The winning bid will be announced in St. Kitts and Nevis on Nov. 11.

 

The contrast between the two bidders is marked.

 

While Gold Coast, south of Brisbane in Queensland state, is a heavily developed and burgeoning beachside city which already possesses much sporting infrastructure, much of Hambantota’s development is still in the planning stage.

 

The port town only emerged onto the sporting scene this year when it hosted two World Cup cricket matches.

 

It lies on Sri Lanka’s southern coast _ an area that was severely damage in the 2004 tsunami _ and has no international airport, no international hotels and all the talk of the athletes’ village and sporting facilities is just that.

 

The city is situated around 240 kilometers (150 miles) southeast of Colombo and it takes a minimum of five hour’s drive to reach there because there is no major road.

 

The Sri Lankan government has promised a $210 million, 2000-hectare airport that will be operational in two years. Along with development of the port into a major hub for Indian Ocean traffic, the slated $4 billion of infrastructure spending is intended to turn the currently remote and isolated town into the country’s second city.

 

A reported 50,000 Chinese engineers are working on expanding the deep sea harbor, but the big question is whether Hambantota has the capacity to host the thousands of athletes, officials and media personnel from around 70 Commonwealth countries.

 

“Our commitment to all CGAs (Commonwealth Games Associations) is that all of the venues and the entire infrastructure for the games will be completed by December 2016,” the bid’s website said. “This means that we can use 2017 for all the test events.”

 

“Our island has a population of 20 million people. This is almost the same population as Australia, with the big difference being, Sri Lanka is only 65,610 square kilometers compared to 7.7 million square for Australia _ you could fit 117 Sri Lankas into Australia.”

 

The Sri Lankan delegation was led by co-chairman of the Hambantota bid committee and governor of the Central Bank, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, and minister of sports Mahindananda Aluthgamage, along with Hambanthota district parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa (son of president Mahinda Rajapaksa), ex-athlete Sriyani Kulawansa and the bid chief executive Nalin Attygalle.

 

“Our promise to athletes and guests hoping to visit Hambantota and our beautiful country in 2018 would be that we would provide them with an experience of a lifetime, offering diversity beauty, and charm of our heritage, coupled with exciting festivals and fun,” Cabraal said.

 

The Hambantota district has a population of around 500,000 out of the country’s 20 million population. It has a significant Buddhist culture, centered on Kataragama, a Buddhist pilgrimage center. The rock temple Mulkirigala is another local feature.

 

Yala National Park, best known for sightings of wild elephants, is also regarded as one of the best places in the world for viewing leopards in their natural habitat.

 

Sri Lanka’s government also sees potential for developing the area’s raw materials: sugar cane, cinnamon, citronella oil, forest resources and minerals.

 

Small-scale industries in gold, silver, pottery, carpentry, foundry work and brass work are earmarked for development, along with the fishing industry.

 

Aluthgamage said the Commonwealth Games was part of a plan to make Hambantota a sporting destination.

 

“Hambantota regional sports hub and Enterprise Park will pave the way to attract all international sports bodies to hold respective competitions while enjoying the tourist attractions in this beautiful greeny island,” he said, AP reports.