The Northern rural town, Mankulam, 30 km from Vavuniya on the A9 highway, is to be developed as a major provincial city and economic zone, for which the master plan on infrastructure has already been formulated, Minister of Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs, D. M. Swaminathan told the Sunday Observer.
The Government will soon make a formal announcement on the infrastructure for the project, the Minister said, pointing out that Mankulam is centrally located, so that any part of the Northern Province is within a distance of 100 km.
Lands for the project have been allotted with the support and cooperation of the Urban Development Authority (UDA), the Minister said. Urban Development areas encompass the surrounding villages, including, Vannivilankulam, Ambalpuram, Kollavilankulam, Oddaruththakulam, Manavalanpaddarippu, Thachchadampan, Olumadu, Ambakmam, Panikkankulam, Thirumurugandi, Inthupuram, Kanagarayankulam,and Kanakarayankulam North, he said.
About 11,000 houses have been constructed by his Ministry in 2015, 2016 and 2017 (up to now) and another 6,000 houses for which Cabinet approval has been obtained, will be constructed soon, he said.
Housing constructors, with 100 percent funding, have been invited to made bids and the process of constructing more houses for IDPs will begin after the Tender Board decides on the lowest bid, the Minister said.