Post-war urban development in Jaffna Municipal Council Area

Abstract

The city of Jaffna is the main administrative and commercial centre of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. The recent urban development in Jaffna city is often regarded as a reflection of the end of the civil war. Due to the three decades of war, the infrastructure was severely damaged. After the official end of the civil war in 2009, social and economic infrastructure needed to be reconstructed and developed in the war-affected areas of Sri Lanka since they had been grievously affected by the 30 years of civil war. Therefore, the Sri Lankan government had paid great attention to fulfilling this task in the Northern Province with the help of foreign governments and institutions. Many of the projects were connected to the overall national development program as well. The immediate areas of focus included roads, agriculture and irrigation, power and energy, and livelihood support in the region. This study was mainly based on a qualitative methodology consisting of field discussions. Under that, both primary and secondary data were used. Primary data were collected through field discussions with the public and the Urban Development Authority Director. Jaffna city is linked to the capital and other parts of Sri Lanka by the narrow roads of A-9 and A-32, a single railway line called the North Line, sea routs that are based at KKS port, and air lines that function based in Palaly domestic airport. The opening of the Kandy-Jaffna Road (A9-Road) had a significant impact on the availability of materials and development activities. After the reopening of the A9 Road, lots of development took place in the Jaffna Municipal Council area, such as education, healthcare, commercial and other transportations like railways.