Sri Lanka sets off 4th industrial revolution in Malabe and Homagama
Sri Lanka is gearing up to set off the world’s 4th industrial revolution in Malabe and Homagama areas changing the way people live, work and communicate, transforming the island nation unlike anything it has experienced ever before.
The master plan of the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development will integrate and involve all stakeholders both locally and internationally, from the public and private sectors to academia and civil society.
Minister Patalee Champika Ranawake, an electrical engineer turned politician with Marxist and nationalist left wing ideology at the beginning and later took a moderate liberal stance in serving the public, is determined to implement the Tech City Development programme.
This programme will be the launching pad of Sri Lanka’s industrial revolution after President J. R. Jayawardene’s Free Trade zone initiative, Minister Ranawake told the Business Times.
He said “Sri Lankans will now have to change the slogan of ‘Api yanne Koi pare, Marx Lenin giyapare’ to ‘Api yanne Koi pare, Mark Zuckerberg giyapare’.”
Sri Lanka should step into the 4th Industrial Revolution building on the third, the digital revolution that has been occurring since the middle of the last century, he emphasised.
It is characterised by a fusion of technologies that is on the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres heralding the transformation of entire systems of production, management, and governance.
Improving and introducing the IT based information access and service providing network have the potential to increasing the efficiency of the entire system of the country.
The Tech City Project consists of four geographic development centres, or clusters at Malabe/ Korathota for Hi-Tech, Meegoda for Electronics Development, Mahenwatta/ Pitipana for Research, Development and Tertiary Education and Diyagama for Leisure and Recreation.
The Science and Technology City (STC) comprises mainly the knowledge services and research based education and training.
Special infrastructure required for such services is expected to be provided throughout this zone.
The Arthur C. Clarke Centre now at Moratuwa will be shifted to a 120- acre land in Horgollawatte in Homagama. This centre is now planning to launch nano satellite and its receiving centre will be built in this area.
This will enable to release all meteorology and climate condi- tion reports and carry out GIS mapping etc .
Knowledge Services sector which encompasses IT software development, Knowledge Process Outsourcing/ Business Process Outsourcing industry, Nano technology, bio technology, Geographic Information Systems and Data Centres, has tremendous potential to emerge as key growth sectors in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka is in an ideal position to develop into a high value added research hub in the next 15 years, he pointed out.
Local institutions have been provided facilities and land to set up their centres at this city.
Some 17 acres have been given for a Colombo University technology faculty, 20 acres for Moratuwa University technology faculty, 45 acres for nano technology institute, 5 acres for the Department of Measurement Units, Standards and Services and 2 acres for a Research and Development Institute.
The 92- acre Mahalenwatta has been acquired to build a technology city. It will have a nano technology institute, a green university and NDT Faculty. Further, the Universities of Colombo, Sri Jayewardenepura and Moratuwa will each have a faculty there.
Some 800 acres had been acquired from Millewa estate. Four other large estates to be taken over have been identified and discussion was on with their owners to buy 246 acres to facilitate extension to the technology city.
A Technology Transfer and Small scale industrial supporting centre and innovation commercialisation research centre will be set up at on a 23-acre land in Dehigahawatte in Homagama. A CEB grid substation and water purification plant will be built on 27-acre land in Thalagala while establishing a bio technology research institute on a 34-acre land.