The majority of contributions to build the world’s tallest, 325-foot Christmas Tree at Galle Face Green have come from Buddhists and Muslims, Ports and Shipping Minister Arjuna Ranatunga said.
“This would be one of the best eye-opener to the world that the entire country wants to live as one united Sri Lankan nation. This is one small gesture to show our unity to the world,” the Minister told the Sunday Observer yesterday.
A lot of people have contributed to this project including mercantile institutions and individuals. Even small-scale businessman, such as those who sell fruits by the roadside have also contributed to this. The record-breaking Christmas tree project is handled by Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) workers, while it has also gained assistance from engineers and experts, free, the Minister said.
Cricketing legend, Ranatunga said their target was to complete the project by December 15. But it had to be suspended for about five days due to miscommunication and misunderstanding. “Now we are on the fast track and will complete the task before Christmas Day. We have another few days left to show the world about our ability.”
“Apart from the Guinness record, another advantage would be that there will be lot of tourists coming to Colombo this month. I heard from some of the hoteliers that there were cancellations as soon as we temporarily stopped the project. I am sure tourists are very keen on visiting Sri Lanka because of this project.”
Asked on the total estimated cost of the project, Minister Ranatunga said that they have not targeted anything. Whatever the contribution we get, we work on that. Ultimately, we can tell the exact cost by the end of the project. We feel that we will get more money for this project so that we have decided to donate it to the President’s kidney project.
However, the project to build record-breaking 100- meter (325 feet) tall Christmas tree was abandoned on December 07 after the Archbishop called it a waste of money. But the work resumed on December 12 after the Prime Minister’s intervention with the Archbishop.
According to Guinness World Records, the largest Christmas tree was erected in the Southern Chinese Province of Guangzhou last year, measuring about 55 meters.