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Remarks by Charge d’ Affaires James R. Moore at the Opening of New Arugam Bay Bridge
Your Excellency President Mahinda Rajapakse, honorable ministers, honorable Chief Minister of the Eastern Provincial Council, esteemed members of the clergy, other distinguished invitees, residents of Arugam Bay and Pottuvil, thank you for coming today to inaugurate the newly built Arugam Bay Bridge. I am honored to be with you today for this wonderful occasion, on behalf of Ambassador Blake who is currently in the United States.
In the aftermath of the tsunami that struck your coasts in December 2004, the Government of the United States provided $134 million for tsunami relief and reconstruction activities in Sri Lanka. These rebuilding efforts are but one manifestation of the close ties that bind together the people of our two great countries.
Our reconstruction program in Sri Lanka includes three fishing harbors, nine vocational schools, this magnificent new bridge that we here to inaugurate, and a new water treatment plant just a few hundred meters away. We chose to fund these projects because we believed they would be critical to Sri Lanka’s recovery and would act as catalysts for the country’s economic growth.
As we celebrate today the completion and opening of this brand new $10 million bridge across Arugam Bay, I would like to congratulate the His Excellency the President, the Government of Sri Lanka, and the people of Arugam Bay for their contributions to making USAID’s flagship tsunami reconstruction project a reality.
A bridge carries great symbolism. The new Arugam Bay Bridge is more than a structure that connects two separate pieces of land. This bridge symbolizes the connection between shores, religions, cultures and people, as it links the three ethnically diverse communities of Pottuvil, Arugam Bay, and Panama.
A bridge may also signify change. By maximizing the use of local labor and by introducing new skills and technology, this construction project has helped the people of the area to overcome the extensive damage caused by the tsunami and to move toward recovery, with hopes for a new beginning.
A bridge is also a point of contact that enables the movement of people, goods, and trade. It is our hope that this new bridge will carry tourists across the beautiful Arugam Bay to help boost the local economy and bring new prosperity to the Eastern Province.
More than anything, a bridge signifies stability. For the next century, this bridge over Arugam Bay will symbolize the commitment of the American people to help Sri Lanka rebuild and grow economically after the tsunami. It will bear witness to our support for stability, democratic governance, economic growth, and development in Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province.
The new Arugam Bay Bridge could not have been such a success without the excellent cooperation we have received from the Road Development Authority under the aegis of the Ministry of Highways. I would like to thank the Ministry and the Road Development Authority for all of their outstanding efforts.
Henry Ford, the father of the modern car, was an American folk hero, as well as the creative force in building our automobile industry. Henry Ford once said: “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. And working together is success”. May the words of a man whose innovations transformed the economic and social character of both America and the world mark this special occasion: the opening of a new bridge that links the people of Sri Lanka – and our two countries – closer together.
Thank you very much.