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Home , Frederica Jansz, Star (Ceylon)

   Hambantota

01 Workers at Magampura Port 02 Dr Priyath Wickrema, chairman of Ports Authority 03 The Suriyawewa International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota, which hosted matches in February’s World Cup

01 a sleepy rural backwater of 15,000 port people, Hambantota, the main town in the southern Sri lankan district of the of call same name, does not look like an inter - national trading hub. fishing boats trawl — Sri Lanka the compact harbour, with fishermen selling their hauls at a market on the Preface shore, while shoppers amble between two Hambantota is about to hit the big time thanks to small grocery stores in the town centre. Chinese money and the tallest building is the three-storey dynastic might. But not bus station overlooking the harbour. everyone is set to benefit. little English is spoken, and apart from fishing, salt mining is the main industry. 02 writer Aarti Betigeri But Hambantota is about to benefit from two lucky coincidences. It is the photographer home town of Sri lanka’s president, Poulomi Basu , and his son, 24- year-old Namal, is the area’s Mp . perhaps more importantly, the town’s location be - tween the markets of asia, africa and the Middle East makes it a prime candidate for a seaport – a fact not lost on china, which, according to some, hopes its Navy will gain unfettered access to a deep- water port smack bang in the centre of the strategically vital Indian ocean.While rajapaksa gives Hambantota’s redevel - opment political blessing, china is pro - viding much of the funding. “china has been a good friend to Sri lanka for a long time, so they offered their financing and their help to build the port and airport,” says Namal rajapaksa. the face of Hambantota is already 03   —     Hambantota

01 05 beginning to change. land prices have increased tenfold in the past two years, “and there’s nothing left to buy,” says thassim azmi, the head of the local chamber of commerce. about a kilometre along the main road from town and the development ac - 02 tivity starts to come into focus, with plans country. almost a quarter of Sri lankans afoot to relocate the business and admin - live below the poverty line – and this istrative district here. In a couple of years, figure rises to a third in Hambantota dis - says azmi, this road will be completely trict, one of the least-developed regions built up and unrecognisable from its cur - in the country and a seven-hour drive rent lush green state. south of the capital . further afield and the wild jungle “Within the next five years Sri lanka and wetlands, alive with birdlife, conceal will definitely go up the ladder to the a flurry of activity that will see the area developed country level,” says Sri lanka become one of the country’s most popu - ports authority chairman Dr priyath lar entry points within five years. the Wickrema. “We won’t reach the level of centrepiece is a new seaport, the first Singapore, Dubai, Hong Kong and the phase of which opened in November other developed countries but we will 2010. Sri lanka’s second international 06 07 come closer to that,” he says. airport is also being constructed nearby, aftermath of war lankans overseas grew by a quarter to located near one of the world’s as well as an international cricket sta - more than $4bn (2.9bn), while there is a busiest shipping routes, some 36,000 The brutal manner in which dium, a convention centre, a new admin - the Sri Lankan military trade surplus of around $900m (€657m). ships travel along Sri lanka’s coast each istrative block for municipal authorities brought an end to the civil year, making the region a lucrative and a handful of five-star hotels. war with the Tamil Tigers in It is a major turnaround in fortunes for a proposition for a port. “[Hambantota] is also in the works are a botanical 2009 has led to accusations country that has suffered devastating set - strategically well located, close to the garden, sports village and safari park, 03 of war crimes. Diplomatic backs over the past decade. after nar - Subcontinent. We can feed the Indian cables released by while a new film studio has already been 01 The Suriyawewa rowly avoiding bankruptcy at the turn of east coast and Bangladesh, as well as the International Cricket Wikileaks documents unveiled. road and rail links to and Stadium revealed that US officials in the century, the 2004 tsunami cost Indian west coast and pakistan. from within the region are being upgraded. 02 Workers at the stadium Colombo privately believed 40,000 people their lives and 500,000 Hambantota, they’re almost an equal dis - the government has also made an ambi - 03 The cricket stadium President Rajapaksa were made homeless. tance,” says Wickrema. tious bid to host the 2018 common - under construction was responsible for the the civil war with the tamil tigers, It is not a new idea, however.there is massacre of thousands wealth Games in Hambantota; australia’s 04 Central bus station which began in 1983, has led to more evidence that a port existed in the area 05 Central Hambantota of civilians, when the army Gold coast is its main rival. 06 Sri Lankan army soldier fired on people who had than 70,000 deaths. the war ended in 2,000 years ago, when it was part of the this all comes at a buoyant time for drafted in to help build gathered at what they controversial circumstances in 2009, and ancient maritime silk route. It is just that the country. after a decade of modest the cricket stadium believed to be safe points. the Sri lankan government has repeat - it has taken another two millennia for growth, the economy expanded after the 07 Namal Rajapaksya, A UN panel will advise edly blocked UN war crimes investiga - people to remember its importance. secretary-general Ban long-running civil war ended in May son of the Sri Lankan tors from travelling there. With almost a When completed, the port will be the president Ki-moon on allegations of 2009, with growth last year pegged at humanitarian law violations. third of its citizens working in agricul - biggest constructed in Sri lanka so far about 8 per cent. remittances from Sri ture, Sri lanka remains a developing this century. 04  —     —     cricket World cup. the Suriyawewa 01 Frederica Jansz, editor of ‘The Hambantota Sunday Leader’ cricket Stadium, a short drive from the 02 Chinese worker at Magampura Port airport site, hosted two cricket matches 03 Female monks at Hambantota during the tournament. With a capacity 04 The seafront of 35,000, the timeline was perhaps the 05 Peacock Hotel most ambitious of all projects and the 06 Local fisherman shows his catch army was called in last November to It is being built by china Harbour assist chinese workers dressed in the Engineering company and Beijing has familiar blue jumpsuit of china Harbour. provided more than half of phase one “We have a solid plan to promote funding – $370m (€270m) of a total cost Hambantota and the economy,” says of $650m (€474m). china Harbour is Namal rajapaksa. “We started designing also at the helm of two other showpiece the port when I was 16, so I’ve been projects: the airport and cricket stadium. involved in the planning since then.” the former is still in a fairly embry - throughout the district, larger-than- onic stage of construction. the site that life posters of Namal, the president, or will eventually house Mattala Interna - both, are on walls and poster sites. the tional airport is just 15km from Ham - president is shown in various poses but bantota town – although it takes at least mostly he is looking into the distance – as 45 minutes by car along unsealed and though towards Sri lanka’s future. desperately potholed roads at present. politics is somewhat of a family busi - 01 “the only problem we’ve had at this ness for the rajapaksas: president site has been with the wildlife, as we’re Mahinda rajapaksa’s two brothers are close to Yala National park,” says both cabinet ministers and there are up lidang, an engineer and manager with to 130 other rajapaksas in political office. china Harbour, who is overseeing work. president rajapaksa rose to power in as we talk, a buffalo wanders on to the 2005 on a platform of privatisation and area that’s being cleared to make space a pledge to end the war. He quickly 05 06 for the runway as a peacock watches on. attracted criticism over his hardline lead - simply disappeared. Having said that, the airport is slated for completion ership style, curtailing of media freedoms however, there has been a serious later this year, and even if it miraculously and his handling of human rights, partic - amount of self-censorship, mainly be - makes the deadline it will still have ularly when it came to civilian casualties cause [editors] have decided to play safe missed another important milestone in suffered in the tamil-dominated areas as and not anger the regime.” the rise of Hambantota: february’s the civil war ground to a halt. Jansz also says that while the devel - 01 02 03 opment in Hambantota is much-needed “He could have been one of the best and very welcome, there are questions leaders this country has seen in a long about how the profits are being allocated. time. I truly believe that,” says editor of “It’s good it’s being developed but it activist newspaper , should be more equally distributed, and frederica Jansz, cautiously.With two civil I would think the north and east [of the cases worth 2bn rupees (€13m) pending country] are priorities for sure,” she says. 02 04 05 06 against the paper by the president’s But Namal rajapaksa insists that brother, she can’t afford to be candid. those areas, once the stronghold of the “Unfortunately he seems to have liberation tigers of tamil Eelam, have been ill-advised in terms of how to deal received their dues. “for the past three with the tamil problem, how to address years, that’s the place where we have human rights, how to allow freedom, and pumped most of the money; for resettle - in a democracy how vital these compo - ment, for reconciliation and rehabilita - nents are,” she adds. tion. We have targeted about 400km of Made in Hambantota The Sunday Leader ’s former editor, road for construction and we have given 01 Battered fried fish , was assassi - them seed paddy, the fertiliser. So all the 02 Dodol, a Malay dish nated two years ago, at the height of a basic infrastructure has been provided.” 03 Handmade leather bag (unlikey to campaign to silence journalists. His While Sri lanka’s own war is still worry any luxury brand) killers are still unknown and no murder fresh in people’s minds, it is hoped 04 Woodapple jam beats marmalade investigation has been launched. development will help heal the scars.the around here 05 Treacle sauce Jansz says the onslaught against the rajapaksas, father and son, hope that the 06 Tea, for those rare quiet moments media has now wound down but mainly projects in the country’s south might just in Hambantota because the media has muzzled itself out help the battle-scarred north and east – of fear. “the physical attacks on journal - but that is a feat that will take consider - ists appear to have stopped last year,” she able will, and may just prove to be the says. “there was only one political ultimate test of rajapaksa senior’s politi - cartoonist [prageeth Eknaligoda], who cal might. — (M) 03 04  —     —