| Potential for Regional Development |
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| The development in the Northern Province can potentially take the following forms: |
| Agriculture |
| Most of Jaffna Peninsula was developed for agriculture. As a net producer of inions, potatoes and even fruits such as mangoes and grapes were transported to Colombo in large numbers. In addition there is scrub land in the Vanni that is now cultivated as chenas. These products to reach markets in cities such as Colombo and its suburbs will need direct transport facilities. The railway therefore will be developed to be able to carry such products under normal condition as well as under refrigerated condition for which the railway carriages as well as the facilities as selected stations will be developed. These stations will have logistics centers where there would be cleaning, processing and packaging centers so that such agricultural produces can be adequately prepared for the markets before shipment. |
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| The road network connecting such production areas and the stations will be identified and steps would be taken to improve the bus and trucking services to and from such places to the stations. This would help to improve the economic conditions of many farmers and their families who are presently under productive due to access to markets. Stations such as Mankulam, Paranthan and Kodikakamam should be developed for this with suitable infrastructure. |
| Fishing |
| Areas in Pooneryn, Mannar Basin as well as the coats off Mullaitivu are considered very rich fishing grounds. In earlier times, fish from these areas reached Colombo. In this development it is proposed that stations such as Mankulam, Paranthan and KKS be developed for transport of fish as well as the processing and packaging of fish prior to transport. These stations will connect both the eastern and western coasts of the country through road transport. |
| Industries |
| Paranthan is ideally located for development as an industrial township. This was formerly the location of the Paranthan Chemicals Corporation. KKS was also an industrial city with the cement factory being located there. The salterns which produced salt consumed by people from all parts of the country was located at Elephant Pass. The entire northern area is rich with mineral deposits including limestone required for production of cement. Moreover these deposits are to be found at very shallow depths making their exploitation commercially viable. |
| Cultural Tourism |
The Northern Province has several important locations that are of religious and cultural significance. The Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil or Nallur Murugan Kovil built in 1749 is one of the most significant Hindu temples in Jaffna District of Sri Lanka. The temple hosts annual festivals like the Temple car festival and Thaipusam. These festivals are major crowd attractor from all parts of the country.
The Nagadeepa island also known as Nainatheevu is a small but notable island 30 km off the coast of Jaffna Peninsula. It is home to the historic Buddhist shrine Naga Vihare and the renowned historic Hindu shrine Nagabooshani Amman temple. The island is mentioned in ancient Buddhist legends of Sri Lanka such as Mahavamsa and in the ancient Tamil Sangam literature of nearby Tamil Nadu. This island is of interest to many communities and would therefore be one of the most important traffic attractors to the north. |
| Development of Towns |
The railway line and the A9 main highway create the strong functional link to the main town centers in the northern region as well as the rest of the country. In the process of the redeveloping the railway line, the following locations can be identified as new townships and urban agglomerations to be develop parallel to railway development.
- Vavuniya
- Mankulam
- Kilinochchi-Iranamadu-Paranthan
- Jaffna, Chavakachcheri, Kankesanthurai
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| Vavuniya |
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| Vavuniya is a mono-centric medium scale town located on the A9 road with the railway station. The population of the town is approximately 50,000 inhabitants. This town functions as a transit centre for the northern region. The town is developed along the A9 road and highways leading to Mannar and Trincomalee. This town is also functions as agricultural service centre providing services such as marketing, inputs, raw materials and other essential services to the farmers in the northern region. With the redevelopment railway line and the expansion of the station the Vavunia town centre can be further developed as a major logistic centre and the dedicated economic centre to promote the economy. The town has greater potential to increase its population up to 100,000 by 2015 with a proper planning effort. |
| Mankulam |
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| Mankulam is a small town located either side of the A9 road and the railway line. The town has strong link to Mullaitivu Town via the A34 road. This town functions as a residential town with agricultural services. There are potential to develop this town a primary agro collecting centre with residential development. It is important to plan and design this town to accommodate about 20,000 inhabitants. |
| Kilinochchi-Iranamadu- Paranthan |
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| Kilinochchi-Iranamadu is also a Medium town located along the A9 road and the railway line. This town has strong connection to Mullaitivu Town. Iranamadu town developed either side of the A9 road and along the main road from Killinochchi to Mullaitivu (A35) and functions as an agricultural service centre. This town has a potential to attract more population and develop as an agro based industrial town. Paranthan is a small town located along the railway station just 2 kms north of Kilinochchi. This town functions as an industrial town with the Chemical Factory. There is potential to develop this town as an industrial town with residential development. It is important to plan and design this town to accommodate about 50,000 inhabitants and therefore important to allocate adequate land for value added industries. The station should be developed with the storage facilities for industrial products in order to transport them to Kankesanturai and other towns. |
| Metro Jaffna (Jaffna, Elephant Pass, Pallai, Chavakachcheri, Kankesanturai ) |
| Jaffna has a good potential to develop as an economic hub, with an educated and an entrepreneurial workforce. Around 500,000 inhabitants are living in Jaffna peninsular. Jaffna should be developed as a metro urban centre with the population up to 700,000 by the end of 2015. The Metro Jaffna will be developed as a multiple economic growth centre with agricultural sector especially cash crop cultivation, fisheries sector, tourism, mining and industrial sector development. All the railway station should be expanded to promote all economic activities by providing storage facilities and the connectivity. The important station centers are Elephant pass, Pallai, Chavakachcheri, Jaffna and Kankesanturai. |
| Development of Stations |
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- (Mallakam, Chunnakam, Kondavil, Navatkuli, Pallai, Murikandy, Puliyankulum, Omanthai)
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