10 things Sri Lankan should now about education

1. All universities and secondary school systems in the world are ranked. The former by multiple organizations, the latter by OECD's PISA (programme for international student assessment)

2. The best way to improve student results is by improving the quality of teachers - better people, better pay and better training.

3. Universal preschool is one way Sri Lanka can improve the quality of children's lives -especially those of the low income groups.

4. Mckinsey (the consultancy company) has published several reports on successful education systems - these are available for free on their site.

5. The private sector has to be involved with universities, schools and vocational institutes to ensure that students have the skills to get jobs.

6. Finland and Germany have strong high schools systems with vocational paths included.

7. The Sri Lankan university system has to be expanded to include proper private universities.

8. Parents who pay school fees should insist that kids should not go for tuition

9. The GCE O-level and A-level are outdated and should be replaced with continuous assessment and project work.

10. Dissent and discussion are a vital part of secondary, without it Sri Lankan will continue to suffer a lack of creativity and innovation.

Sri Lanka GDP to grow at 8% in 2012

Releasing its Asian Development Outlook Update, ADB indicated Sri Lanka’s 8% growth forecast for 2011 and 2012 is intact and is in line with its original estimate. This is on account of robust exports and tourism. However for overall South Asia it revised growth rate downwards to 7.2% for 2011 in the update from 7.5% previously and to 7.7% from 8.1%.

new coal plant

Sri Lanka, India US$500mn coal plant deal inked


Sept 06, 2011 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's state-run Ceylon Electricity Board and India's National Thermal Power Corporation inked a deal to build a 500MegaWatt coal plant in the island's northeast coast.


The 50/50 joint venture will begin construction at Sampur in Trincomalee, in late 2012 and is expected to be commissioned in 2016, CEB chairman Wimaladharma Abeywickrama said.
Sri Lanka's power ministry secretary M M C Ferdinando said the plant would cost 500 million US dollars.

Each partner would put 15 percent of the cost - about 75 million US dollars - as equity and the balance would come from multilateral and bilateral lenders and commercial sources.

The shareholder agreement was inked Tuesday in Colombo. The plant is structured as a build operate own (BOO) project.

India's power secretary Uma Shankar said financial closure would be in achieved in the next few months.

India is also giving a 200 million dollars loan to Sri Lanka's government to cover CEB's equity, jetty construction to unload coal and interconnection to the national grid.

India's envoy to Colombo Alok Kantha said the joint venture company would be registered after the signing and the preliminary work will be wrapped up for remaining agreements to be signed early in October.

The power purchase agreement, an agreement with Sri Lanka's Board of Investment and an implementation agreement have been already negotiated, he said.
The power purchase agreement (PPA) is based on 80 percent availability (plant factor), Shankar said.

Ferdinando said about 65 percent of Sri Lanka's power comes from thermal and the rest from renewable sources, mainly large hydros.

Officials say the plant will try to reduce its environmental impact.

"Ambient temperature around the plant will be about two degrees higher," NTPC chairman Arup Roy Choudhury said.

"We will try to make it as environmentally friendly as possible."

Sri Lanka is now operating a 300MW coal plant on the west coast of the island with Chinese financing, which will be upgraded to 900MW.

Runway of Sri Lanka's second International Airport at Mattala completed

July 04, Colombo: The construction of the runway of Sri Lanka's second International Airport at Mattala in the Hambantota District in the South has been completed, the government said Monday.

The runway with a length of 4,000 meters and a width of 75 meters has all necessary facilities to land the largest aircraft available at present such as Airbus A-380. The Taxi route to the runway is 370 meters long and 60 meters wide.

The foundation for the construction of main passenger terminal with state-of-the-art facilities that can accommodate 10,000 passengers was laid in April.

The government plans to complete all basic facilities and requirements including the runway, taxiways and parking facilities for 10 aircrafts in the first phase at a total cost of US$ 210 million with the financial assistance from the Chinese government.

The airport is being built on a 2,000 hectare land according to recommendations of the International Civil Aviation Organization. The 1,000-sq. meter cargo facility which is also nearing completion will have the capacity of handling 45,000 metric tons of cargo per year.

The first aircraft is expected to land at the new international airport by the end of 2012

Mattala International Airport is one of the largest development projects that is undertaken by the government.

According to the government, when completed, the new airport, alternative to the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake, will support both international and domestic travel and air-sea cargo transshipment in conjunction with the Hambantota Harbor.

Sri Lanka raises one billion dollars at 6.25 percent

Sri Lanka raises one billion dollars at 6.25 percent


July 21, 2011 (LBO) - Sri Lanka raises has sold a 10-year sovereign bond at 6.25 percent to raise one billion dollars from international markets, a source close to the deal said.


The deal had attracted 7.0 billion dollars in subscriptions, indicating strong demand. Orders were high
This was the fourth sovereign issue by Sri Lanka. The country has previously sold two 500 million dollar tranches and one billion dollar tranche.

The last bond was also priced at 6.25 percent. US 10-year Treasuries are now around 2.96 percent.

In late September 2010 US 10-year Treasuries were yielded around 2.54.

Sri Lanka recent got a rating upgrade, but it is also balanced against turmoil in international bond markets, analysts said.

Sri Lanka’s sovereign rating raised

Sri Lanka’s sovereign rating outlook was raised to positive from stable by Moody’s Investors Service, which cited a “peace dividend” of greater economic and financial stability.
Sri Lanka’s improved credit assessment comes as the island plans to raise $1 billion from the sale of dollar-denominated bonds in its fourth international offering. The nation’s foreign-currency rating remains at B1, four levels below investment grade. Standard & Poor’s upgraded the island’s credit rating by one level to B+ on Sept. 14.
The country may be able to attract more foreign funds and lower its borrowing costs, further bolstering economic growth after the end of a three-decade civil war against separatist Tamil Tiger rebels. The risk premium on emerging-market debt has shrunk to 3.14 percentage points from 8.91 points during the global financial crisis, according to an index compiled by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM)

Railway investment

Sri Lanka remaining north railway to be built by India


July 15, 2011 (LBO) - India's state-run Indian Railway Construction International Ltd (lRCON) has been given a 149.3 million US dollar contract to build a remaining part of a railway track to Sri Lanka's north, the government's information office said.


The entire track from Vavuniya to Jaffna was destroyed during a civil war which ended in 2009.
A railway track from the northern town of Vavuniya to Omanthai has already been built and trains are being run.

The track from Omanthai to Pallai has already been awarded to IRCON.

The balance part of the track from Pallai to Kankasanthurai in Jaffna has also been awarded to IRCON by the cabinet of ministers.

The 149.3 million dollar project is financed by the Exim Bank of India, the statement said.