The Central Bank of Sri Lanka said on Thursday that the former LTTE-stronghold that was ravaged by fighting between Sri Lankan forces and the LTTE, the Northern Province, recorded a provincial nominal GDP growth rate of 14.2 per cent, the second highest in Sri Lanka.
The Eastern Province recorded the highest growth of 14.4 per cent.
“The economic performance of the Northern Province in 2010 is expected to have improved further as peace prevailed during the entire 2010. The contribution to the country's GDP by the Northern Province increased to 3.3 per cent in 2009 from 2.8 per cent in 2006,” the Central Bank said in a release.
The Bank said that the high contribution to GDP from the Northern Province would be sustained, with greater contribution from the agriculture and services sectors.
In the agriculture sector, the gross extent of land used for paddy cultivation in the Northern Province increased by 179 per cent to 67,003 hectares in the 2010-11 Maha season from 24,051 hectares in the 2009-10 Maha season. This resulted in a 112 per cent increase in paddy production in 2010-11 as compared to the 2009-10 Maha season. The highest increases in the extent of paddy cultivation were reported in Kilinochchi and Vavuniya districts.
In the services sector, banking facilities have been strengthened. The number of telephone connections in the Northern Province, including wire lines, wireless, local loops, CDMA and payphones increased by 89 per cent to 74,742 in 2009 from 46,919 in 2008, while the vehicle stock in the Northern Province increased to 47,031 in 2009 from 39,740 in 2008, an increase of 18 per cent.
