Tripoli market to become a ‘knowledge park'

The Colombo’s famous Tripoli market will be transformed into a ‘knowledge park' by the end of this year, housing a cluster of private Information Technology (IT) firms, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa told a seminar organised by The Sri Lanka Association of Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM) in Colombo this week.

This will be the second ‘knowledge park' in Sri Lanka next to Hambantota, but the investors prefer Colombo because it has better schooling facilities for their children, he said. Sankalpa Gamwarige, general manager of Zone24x7, an information technology firm told the Business Times that the Sri Lankan Navy will carry out the reconstruction work and the cost of the project will be US$7 million.

The Urban Development Authority (UDA) will supervise the project in addition to making an investment of US$7 million, he said. The UDA will recover the investment by renting out the buildings at the park to IT firms, he added. The park will consist of electronic, software, business process outsourcing, fashion design, pharmaceutical and health professionals, with separate centres of the universities of Moratuwa and Peradeniya. The knowledge park' with a cluster of IT firms would be able promote new ideas and innovations through interaction adding value to country’s software exports, Mr. Gamwarige said.