To address the requirement of urgent reconstruction of tsunami devastated houses in the North and East, within a short period of time, a challenging undertaking constrained by limited time, material and human resources before the monsoon begins in the area in mid September would be implemented. The Ministry of Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconciliation under the patronage of Hon.Najeeb Abdul Majeed, M.P., Minister of Rehabilitation and District Development (Trincomalee) has jointly initiated a project to construct four thousand houses initially in Trincomalee district in the North and East Provinces. The proposed cost effective, affordable houses are 500sqft in size and suits the climatic conditions in Sri Lanka are made of fiber boards and by a material of colour steel technology. The pre-fabricated houses are supplied by a reputed Chinese supplier with a Sri Lankan counterpart company and can be put up within a short period of time. The model houses are on display at Muttiah park, Colombo 2 from Friday 25 till 30th March 2005, and thereafter in other tsunami affected districts.
This project will provide timely and much needed housing relief to the tsunami affected population mainly in the East. Furthermore, the project will provide immediate employment and vocational training in housing construction to the local people. The introduction of cost-effective construction technology and the technical know-how gained from this undertaking serve not only as a model for other rehabilitation reconstruction work, but also provide invaluable experience for development projects in general. Expedient rehabilitation of tsunami affected communities is crucial for the speedy normalization and restoration and more importantly, future development of local economies and community lives. The beneficiaries are, therefore, all the people of Sri Lanka.