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150 Aquatic runways to be established

29 Jul 2021

  • Surroundings to be developed as tourist sites 
  • Investors to be sought to set up aqueducts 
BY Dinitha Rathnayake  A total of 150 locations have been identified island-wide for the construction of new aquatic airline runaways, according to the Tourism Ministry. Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said that the Government is focusing on developing the areas around these proposed runways as tourist attractions. The Government is planning to revive the tourism industry which has been badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and is seeking to promote new tourist attractions and new areas of tourism. Accordingly, special attention will be paid to the locations where these runaways are to be established, the Minister noted. At present, 11 runaways are in operation in the Benthara/Bentota River, the Kelani River, the Polgolla Reservoir, the Diyawanna Oya, the Victoria Reservoir in Maulla, the Castlereagh Reservoir, Lake Gregory in Nuwara Eliya, the Tissa Wewa, the Koggala Lake, and the Batticaloa Lagoon.  According to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the runaways in the Beira Lake, Arugam Bay, the Dandugama Oya, the Konduwattuwana Tank in Ampara, the Badagiriya Tank, the Iranamadu Tank, the Kalpitiya Dutch Bay, and the Valaichchenai Lagoon have been abandoned at present.  The CAA has conducted an extensive study in this regard and has identified 150 locations where new runaways could be established. The Minister added that in future, the possibility of setting up aqueducts with the assistance of investors in these areas is also being explored. In line with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour Policy Statement, plans have been made to establish amusement parks in the country in future, identify tourist attractions in areas of religious and cultural value, and where there is national heritage, adventure sports, agriculture, and forestry. About 6,000 new tourist attractions have already been identified island-wide and a programme has been prepared to promote those tourist attractions through both traditional media and social media, Ranatunga added further.


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