Sri Lankan parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa said that the island nation ignored certain development projects based on political reasons. Rajapaksa, the National Organizer of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), was speaking at the Rising Bharat Summit 2025 in New Delhi.
His remarks came in the wake of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka, during which Modi pledged support to Colombo in dealing with newly imposed tariffs by the United States.
Rajapaksa emphasized the importance of regional cooperation, highlighting the potential benefits of enhanced collaboration between Sri Lanka and India. “With Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka, there are many areas where Sri Lanka and India can collaborate, especially in regional cooperation. It’s in the best interest of each country to build strong regional ties,” he said.
He noted that while global priorities have often taken precedence, focusing on regional partners like India—one of the largest and fastest-growing economies—could bring significant advantages. “Countries like Sri Lanka, Maldives, and others in the region can benefit greatly if we pursue the right path and establish effective contracts,” he added.
When asked about Sri Lanka’s way forward amid economic and political challenges, Rajapaksa stressed the need for timely implementation of key projects. “We must execute what needs to be done at the right time. Delays in projects like Sampur and Uma Oya due to political reasons led to an energy crisis that later turned into a financial crisis in 2022,” he explained.
He also called for greater collaboration among Indian Ocean countries to develop new trade partnerships, especially in light of recent global trade shifts. “The recent developments in Washington will affect Sri Lanka’s apparel exports and maritime industry. We need to work together with countries like India to form new alliances and partnerships within the region,” he said.
A ‘Coffee Heritage Trail’ showcasing the island’s history in growing the bean was launched in partnership with Tree of Life Nature resort in the island’s central hills city of Kandy, Australia’s Market Development Facility said.
“This coffee tour has the potential to diversify Sri Lanka’s offerings and position our coffee in global markets,” Tree of Life Founder and Managing Director Shelton Thenuwara said.
The 1.5 kilometre trail will immerse tourists in the history of ceylon coffee, from cultivation to brewing.
“Sri Lanka’s coffee story is one of resilience and revival, and Australia is proud to be part of this journey,” Australian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Paul Stephens said.
“Through MDF we have supported the re-emergence of specialty coffee, helping it gain both local and international recognition. We remain committed to showcasing Sri Lanka’s unique coffee to the world and ensuring its well-deserved place on the global coffee map.”
Ceylon coffee was a commercial crop since its inception in the 1790s, but the sector shrunk due to leaf rust in 1868 which decimated plantations across the country, before its recovery in the late 1990s.
The coffee trail features the bean to cup journey, from coffee nursery to a guided coffee tasting session led by the inhouse barista.
Visitors will be able to hike through the plantation, learn about seed selection, planting, processing and roasting in traditional and modern methods.
Tree of Life Nature resort offers an opportunity to plant participants’ very own coffee tree and receive regular updates on the growth of the tree, creating a long lasting relationship with the continuous growth of the coffee industry.
The project aim is to create opportunities, boost tourism, facilitate the discovery of local flavors, tradition and culture and increase the export potential of the homegrown coffee in the world market.
The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has invited bids from registered suppliers for the purchase of five shiploads—totaling approximately 300,000 barrels (+/- 5%)—of Petrol 92 Unl for the period from April 15, 2025, to October 14, 2025.
Seven suppliers submitted bids for the procurement. The Cabinet approved the proposal from the Minister of Energy to award the contract to M/s Vitol Asia Pte. Ltd., Singapore—the lowest bidder—based on the recommendations of both the Standing Technical Evaluation Committee and the Special Standing Procurement Committee appointed by the Cabinet.
Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves reached USD 6,517 million in March 2025, recovering from declines over the past few months and surpassing the recent high of USD 6,472 million recorded in October 2024, according to data from the Central Bank.
Amid a credit recovery in late 2024, the Central Bank injected large volumes of liquidity to suppress short-term interest rates. This raised concerns that banks might issue loans without adequate deposits, limiting the Central Bank’s ability to accumulate dollars and increasing the risk of having to sell reserves.
Following October’s peak, gross official reserves declined, especially after November, due to external debt payments and weak dollar collections in early 2025. However, by January, credit contracted, easing pressure on reserves.
To support the reserve position, the Central Bank executed swap arrangements, though these created liquidity from borrowed dollars — a practice previously linked to external instability. Direct domestic liquidity injections had been halted.
In March 2025, the Central Bank made a decisive move by purchasing USD 400 million from the market. As a result of the credit contraction, commercial banks were also able to increase their dollar holdings, contributing to the reserve buildup.
The Department of Railways has announced the launch of 10 special train services to accommodate increased travel during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year season. Railway General Manager Dhammika Jayasundara confirmed that these services will commence on April 11. Passengers can now reserve seats for applicable trains via the online reservation system.
One of the highlights includes the “New Year Special Night Mail Train,” which will run from Colombo Fort to Badulla, departing at 7:30 PM on April 11, 12, 19, and 20. Return services from Badulla to Colombo Fort are scheduled on the same dates.
Additional services include a train from Galle to Anuradhapura, departing at 4:00 AM on April 12 and 13, and a return service from Colombo Fort to Galle at 3:00 PM on those days. Another special train from Galle to Colombo Fort will operate at 6:10 AM on April 11, 12, 16, and 21.
Further special services will run between Colombo Fort and Kankesanthurai, as well as between Colombo Fort and Beliatta during the festive period.
Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in Southern province. Showers or thundershowers may occur at several places in the other areas over the island during the afternoon or night.
Showers may occur in the coastal areas of Western province and Puttalam district in the morning too.
Fairly heavy rainfall of about 75 mm are likely at some places in Sabaragamuwa, Sothern, Central, Uva and Eastern provinces.
Misty conditions can be expected at some places in Sabaragamuwa, Central, Uva and Eastern provinces during the morning.
The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.
On the apparent northward relative motion of the sun, it is going to be directly over the latitudes of Sri Lanka during 05th to 14th of April in this year. The nearest areas of Sri Lanka over which the sun is overhead today (09th) are Uyangalla, Arangala, Kongahawela, Moragahakanda and Batticaloa at about 12:12 noon.
The pool at Geoffrey Bawa’s former country estate, Lunuganga is a recent addition to the gardens by Teardrop Hotels. Tom Griffiths
David Robson, the author of Geoffrey Bawa: The Complete Works*, considers the architect’s lasting legacy. Many of his gardens and buildings across the Indian Ocean island have been preserved and are now fascinating places to visit and stay in
In 1948, the island of Sri Lanka regained its independence after four centuries of colonial rule. On a map, it appears as a small, isolated pimple on the nose of India, and yet it is a substantial island, occupying a pivotal position at the centre of the Indian Ocean, with a varied topography, a long history that stretches back over two millennia and a richly mixed population of more than 20 million.
A corner of the main courtyard of the house Bawa designed for the batik artist Ena de Silva. It was originally built in Colombo from 1961 to 1962 but, after the land was sold in 2009, the house was disassembled and meticulously reconstructed on the edge of the Lunuganga garden, supervised by the architect Amila de Mel. Tom Griffiths
Independence released a wave of creativity across many branches of the arts, including architecture. One pioneer was the architect Geoffrey Bawa (1919-2003), son of a Muslim lawyer and his Dutch Burgher wife. He studied English at the University of Cambridge and Law in London before embarking on a legal career back in Colombo. In 1948, he bought Lunuganga, an abandoned rubber estate a few miles inland from Bentota on the south west coast, intending to transform it into a tropical iteration of an Italian garden. But the project laid bare his lack of knowledge and, in 1954, he enrolled to study architecture at the Architectural Association in London. In 1957, he qualified at the age of 38 and returned to Colombo.
Bawa’s early projects were executed in the Tropical Modern manner, using white sculpted forms, exposed concrete frames and patterned ventilation blocks, as prescribed by Maxwell Fry at the Architectural Association. But Bawa quickly realised that this approach was unsuited to the island’s hot and humid climate. Influenced by the work of the Sri Lankan architect Minnette de Silva (1918-1998), he began to experiment with traditional forms – verandas, courtyards, overhanging roofs – and materials including clay tile, stone and timber.
His house for the batik artist Ena de Silva, built in the early 1960s, typified this new approach. Taking inspiration from traditional Kandvan models, he turned the structure inside out. organising the accommodation around a large central courtyard. This was a time of restricted imports and the house was built without glass, concrete or air conditioning. The verandas around the courtyard were supported by polished satinwood columns and the roofs were clad in half-round clay tiles, but the open-plan style was wholly modern in spirit. Originally the house was located in the heart of Colombo, but when it was threatened with demolition, it was dismantled and carefully rebuilt on the edge of Lunuganga by the Geoffrey Bawa Trust.
The Main House Studio at Lunuganga was originally used by Bawa’s close friends when they visited him and is now a spacious retreat for guests at the Teardrop group hotel, with antique furniture, paintings and artefacts from the architect’s personal collection. Tom Griffiths
Bawa was seeking a new but authentic architecture that would reconcile the needs of the present with memories of the past. Working like a scenographer, he conceived of a building as a series of tableaux to be experienced sequentially, breaking down the barriers between inside and out. Over the next 35 years, he completed over 200 projects, establishing himself as one of the most important Asian architects of his generation.
Two houses bookend his long and distinguished career. In 1963, he was asked to design a bungalow at Polontalawa, a remote coconut estate. He persuaded the client to build within an outcrop of huge rocks and created the main living space under a pitched roof that spanned between two boulders. Around 35 years later, he created a weekend house that overlooked Weligama Bay for the family of Sri Lanka’s former president, JR Jayewardene. The flat roof of the house appears to float with Mies van der Rohe-style elegance and simplicity on a platoon of concrete columns, while cellular elements lie half-buried under a raised mezzanine.
Geoffrey Bawa’s canon of hotels, many of which are still in operation, offered guests a sensuous experience. The Bentota Beach Hotel (1969) was conceived much like a monastery, with rooms clustered around a central courtyard, fusing nods to Le Corbusier’s Sainte Marie de La Tourette, near Lyon, with ideas of Keralan palaces and Kandyan manor houses. The Heritance Hotel at Ahungalla (1979) adopts the guise of a sprawling colonial villa set within a magical forest of coconut trees that frame views of the Indian Ocean.
Built around 1980 using components salvaged from old buildings, the light-filled Sandela Pavilion at Lunuganga served as Bawa’s studio and office space. Tom Griffiths
His design for the new parliament building in Kotte (1979) echoed the monasteries of Anuradhapura, with a group of roofed pavilions on an island in the middle of an artificial lake, while his masterplan for the Ruhuna University campus (1982), on the south coast near Matara, was conceived as a chequerboard of simple buildings and garden courts spread over two hills.
During his final decades, Bawa continued to create magical hotel buildings. The Kandalama hotel (1992) lies close to the cave temples of Dambulla. It clings to the side of a cliff above an ancient reservoir like a great belvedere, its façades and roof covered in vegetation, looking out towards the 5th-century rock citadel of Sigiriya. The rugged Lighthouse Hotel (1995) faces the fury of the south west monsoon on a rocky seashore north of the walled fortress town of Galle. It incorporates a fantastic sculpted staircase – designed and made by the artist Laki Senanayake – which depicts an ancient battle between Sinhalese and Portuguese warriors.
In 1948, the island of Sri Lanka regained its independence after four centuries of colonial rule. On a map, it appears as a small, isolated pimple on the nose of India, and yet it is a substantial island, occupying a pivotal position at the centre of the Indian Ocean, with a varied topography, a long history that stretches back over two millennia and a richly mixed population of more than 20 million.
Independence released a wave of creativity across many branches of the arts, including architecture. One pioneer was the architect Geoffrey Bawa (1919-2003), son of a Muslim lawyer and his Dutch Burgher wife. He studied English at the University of Cambridge and Law in London before embarking on a legal career back in Colombo. In 1948, he bought Lunuganga, an abandoned rubber estate a few miles inland from Bentota on the south west coast, intending to transform it into a tropical iteration of an Italian garden. But the project laid bare his lack of knowledge and, in 1954, he enrolled to study architecture at the Architectural Association in London. In 1957, he qualified at the age of 38 and returned to Colombo.
Bawa’s early projects were executed in the Tropical Modern manner, using white sculpted forms, exposed concrete frames and patterned ventilation blocks, as prescribed by Maxwell Fry at the Architectural Association. But Bawa quickly realised that this approach was unsuited to the island’s hot and humid climate. Influenced by the work of the Sri Lankan architect Minnette de Silva (1918-1998), he began to experiment with traditional forms – verandas, courtyards, overhanging roofs – and materials including clay tile, stone and timber.
His house for the batik artist Ena de Silva, built in the early 1960s, typified this new approach. Taking inspiration from traditional Kandvan models, he turned the structure inside out. organising the accommodation around a large central courtyard. This was a time of restricted imports and the house was built without glass, concrete or air conditioning. The verandas around the courtyard were supported by polished satinwood columns and the roofs were clad in half-round clay tiles, but the open-plan style was wholly modern in spirit. Originally the house was located in the heart of Colombo, but when it was threatened with demolition, it was dismantled and carefully rebuilt on the edge of Lunuganga by the Geoffrey Bawa Trust.
Bawa was seeking a new but authentic architecture that would reconcile the needs of the present with memories of the past. Working like a scenographer, he conceived of a building as a series of tableaux to be experienced sequentially, breaking down the barriers between inside and out. Over the next 35 years, he completed over 200 projects, establishing himself as one of the most important Asian architects of his generation.
Two houses bookend his long and distinguished career. In 1963, he was asked to design a bungalow at Polontalawa, a remote coconut estate. He persuaded the client to build within an outcrop of huge rocks and created the main living space under a pitched roof that spanned between two boulders. Around 35 years later, he created a weekend house that overlooked Weligama Bay for the family of Sri Lanka’s former president, JR Jayewardene. The flat roof of the house appears to float with Mies van der Rohe-style elegance and simplicity on a platoon of concrete columns, while cellular elements lie half-buried under a raised mezzanine.
Geoffrey Bawa’s canon of hotels, many of which are still in operation, offered guests a sensuous experience. The Bentota Beach Hotel (1969) was conceived much like a monastery, with rooms clustered around a central courtyard, fusing nods to Le Corbusier’s Sainte Marie de La Tourette, near Lyon, with ideas of Keralan palaces and Kandyan manor houses. The Heritance Hotel at Ahungalla (1979) adopts the guise of a sprawling colonial villa set within a magical forest of coconut trees that frame views of the Indian Ocean.
His design for the new parliament building in Kotte (1979) echoed the monasteries of Anuradhapura, with a group of roofed pavilions on an island in the middle of an artificial lake, while his masterplan for the Ruhuna University campus (1982), on the south coast near Matara, was conceived as a chequerboard of simple buildings and garden courts spread over two hills.
During his final decades, Bawa continued to create magical hotel buildings. The Kandalama hotel (1992) lies close to the cave temples of Dambulla. It clings to the side of a cliff above an ancient reservoir like a great belvedere, its façades and roof covered in vegetation, looking out towards the 5th-century rock citadel of Sigiriya. The rugged Lighthouse Hotel (1995) faces the fury of the south west monsoon on a rocky seashore north of the walled fortress town of Galle. It incorporates a fantastic sculpted staircase – designed and made by the artist Laki Senanayake – which depicts an ancient battle between Sinhalese and Portuguese warriors.
At the Bawa-designed Heritance Kandalama hotel, on the outskirts of Dambulla in central Sri Lanka, some of the bedrooms have far-reaching views across the ancient reservoir towards the Sigiriya citadel.
Throughout his career, Bawa continued to fashion his own garden at Lunuganga, using it and his Colombo townhouse as space laboratories in which to conduct various architectural experiments. In 1998, King Charles (who was then the Prince of Wales) paid Lunuganga a surprise visit and, in 2001, Bawa was given lifetime-achievement recognition as one of the recipients of an Aga Khan Award for Architecture.
At the time of his death in 2003, the garden was still a work in progress. An intriguing sequence of spaces and vistas created through the interaction between landscape and topography, it had come to be recognised as one of the most important Asian gardens of the 20th century. Now open to the public, Lunuganga is carefully maintained by the Geoffrey Bawa Trust, and his former home is run as a guest house by Teardrop Hotels.
Ways and means
Ampersand Travel (ampersandtravel.com) offers a 12-night trip exploring the life, work and influences of Geoffrey Bawa. Highlights include a stay at Lamuganga Estate and visits to his early projects, plus stays at Bara-designed properties, including Jetwing Lighthouse in Galle, The Last House in Tangalle, Heritance Kandalama and Jetwing Blue in Negombo. Visits to landmarks such as Baas Colombo residence, Number 11, the parliament building and Ruhuna University are also included. The trip ends with visits to the ancient wonders at Anvradhapura, Sigiriya and Dambulla in the Cultural Triangle. Prices start at £3,400 per person, based on two sharing, including all accommodation, private transport with an English-speaking driver and entrance fees, but excluding flights.
Tom Griffiths
The distinctive modernist façade of the hotel is softened by diverse vegetation, ensuring it blends in with the building’s lush tropical surroundings and increasing its sustainability credentials.
Tom Griffiths
This view of Heritance Kandalama hotel showcases Bawa’s innovative structure, which incorporates broad terraced sections with eco-friendly green roofs.
Fishermen on one of the island’s many beautiful beaches.
The formal sitting room of Bawa’s Colombo townhouse.
In the house’s main corridor is an improvised copy of Mies van der Rohe’s ‘Barcelona’ chair, made by local craftsmen at Bawa’s behest.
April 08, Colombo (LNW): Former State Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, widely known by his alias “Pillayan,” has been taken into custody in Batticaloa as part of an active investigation led by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
The arrest, which took place earlier today, is linked to an ongoing inquiry, although the specific details surrounding the investigation have not yet been officially disclosed.
Chandrakanthan, a former Tamil militant leader turned politician, has previously been embroiled in several high-profile legal cases and investigations. His political journey has been marked by a transition from armed struggle to democratic engagement, including a stint as Chief Minister of the Eastern Province and later as a State Minister.
April 08, Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka’s capital market saw a notable resurgence on Tuesday (08) following three consecutive sessions of steep declines, which had been triggered by a global wave of market instability after the United States imposed sweeping new tariffs.
The recovery came as a relief to investors who had watched billions in market value evaporate in a matter of days.
At the close of trading, the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) saw the benchmark All Share Price Index (ASPI) rise by 467.26 points, marking a 3.19 per cent increase and closing at 15,127.71.
Meanwhile, the S&P SL20 Index, which tracks the performance of the top 20 listed companies, surged by 190.29 points or 4.46 per cent, finishing the day at 4,455.13. Market turnover surpassed Rs. 2.89 billion, a signal of renewed investor confidence.
This positive swing followed a dramatic downturn that saw the local bourse shed nearly Rs. 435 billion in value in just three trading days. The slump was triggered by an announcement from US President Donald Trump, who unveiled a new trade regime last week that included a flat 10 per cent tariff on imported goods and additional “reciprocal” tariffs targeting specific nations. Sri Lanka was amongst those affected, hit with a harsh 44 per cent levy under the new formula.
The resulting panic reverberated through the CSE almost immediately. On April 02, the ASPI plummeted by 712.9 points—a single-day drop of 4.64 per cent—wiping out Rs. 227 billion in market capitalisation.
In total, the index fell 1,346.99 points (8.41 per cent) over the three-day slide, with a collective loss of over Rs. 430 billion during that period.
The fallout prompted a swift response from the Sri Lankan government. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake moved to calm the markets, convening an expert committee to study the implications of the reciprocal tariffs and develop recommendations to mitigate long-term impacts on the economy and investor sentiment.
The administration also pledged to engage diplomatically with US officials to revisit the terms of the tariff policy as it applies to Sri Lanka.
Despite the early damage, Tuesday’s rebound has been seen as a sign that confidence may be gradually returning to the market. Analysts credit the recovery partly to assurances from the government, as well as opportunistic buying by investors who viewed the recent downturn as a chance to acquire undervalued equities.
Market watchers, however, remain cautiously optimistic. Whilst the day’s performance provided a much-needed reprieve, concerns linger about the long-term impact of the US tariffs on Sri Lanka’s export-driven sectors, especially apparel and agriculture, which are vulnerable to such trade disruptions.
April 08, Colombo (LNW): A high-profile investment forum aimed at revitalising commercial ties between Sri Lanka and Thailand was held in Bangkok on April 03, drawing an audience of over 80 influential business leaders from Thailand and beyond.
Titled ‘Invest Sri Lanka’, the event was jointly hosted by the Sri Lankan Embassy and Permanent Mission in Thailand in collaboration with the Thai-Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce.
It took place at the Grande Centre Point Surawong Hotel, offering a focused platform for promoting Sri Lanka as a gateway for regional trade and investment.
The forum coincided with the 6th Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit, which unfolded in the Thai capital from April 02 to 04.
Riding the momentum of heightened regional dialogue, the business gathering sought to position Sri Lanka as a renewed economic prospect amid signs of post-crisis recovery and political stabilisation.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, who was the guest of honour at the event, used her keynote address to signal the country’s readiness for a new phase of economic resurgence.
She invited international investors to participate in what she described as a national transformation, backed by prudent governance, macroeconomic stabilisation, and a clear commitment to inclusive development.
Emphasising the country’s steady rebound following a turbulent period marked by economic collapse and global pandemic fallout, Dr. Amarasuriya spoke confidently about a “new chapter” for Sri Lanka.
She pointed to major investments in infrastructure, a rapidly expanding skilled workforce, and a surge in international tourist arrivals early in 2025, which have helped boost confidence across key economic sectors.
The Prime Minister characterised the coming years as decisive and full of potential, particularly for investors willing to establish long-term partnerships.
Welcoming participants to the forum, Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Thailand, Wijayanthi Edirisinghe, reflected on the strong economic rapport between the two nations.
She noted that Thailand had invested approximately US$ 97 million in Sri Lanka between 2008 and 2024, illustrating the potential for deeper cooperation.
Ambassador Edirisinghe highlighted favourable conditions now in place for foreign investors, such as bilateral legal agreements designed to streamline investment processes and avoid double taxation.
Speakers from across the Thai business community echoed optimism about Sri Lanka’s evolving business climate. Dilan Samarakoon, President of the Thai-Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce, along with Thai Chamber of Commerce Chairman Poj Aramwattananont and Vibeke Lyssand Leirvåg, Chairwoman of the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce in Thailand, each endorsed Sri Lanka’s economic roadmap.
They urged stakeholders in the region to explore opportunities in sectors ranging from manufacturing and renewable energy to tourism and logistics.
The forum concluded with a strong message of renewed cooperation and forward-looking engagement. With regional economies realigning in the wake of global shifts, Sri Lanka’s efforts to present itself as a hub for sustainable investment in South Asia are beginning to attract the attention of both regional neighbours and global investors alike.
