More than a month after the bombing of the Central Bank, the numerous buildings lining Janadhipathi Mawatha are but shells. The vast stretch of land between Galle Road and Chatham Street, once considered the very heart of the country's economic life is today lifeless and has been cordoned off. Armed security personnel patrol the barricaded pathway to this ghost town.
A supervisor overseeing the clearing of the debris of the heavily damaged Central Bank building said that just two weeks ago, they had recovered body parts believed to have belonged to three or four persons.
Of the three great towers of the Central Bank that once stood proud, it is only the North tower that has not been severely affected by the blast. The South and Central towers appear about to collapse any moment and are supported by iron girders. The basement, ground floor and mezzanine floor (in which the library, reputed to be one of Asia's best was situated) have been reduced to rubble. Only a fraction of the rubble has been cleared away. Construction workers are nevertheless working hard and fast to clear the mess.
The Central Bank now operates from the Rural Banking and Staff Training College, Rajagiriya.
The 15-storeyed Ceylinco House, in which 35 companies of the Ceylinco Group were located, is a shell, having been affected not only by the brunt of the blast but the resultant inferno as well.
Hardly anything remains of the interior. The shock waves of the blast had brought down the ceilings and wrecked the internal systems such as Air-conditioning, piping and wiring.
According to Dr. A. C. Visvalingam, head of Ceylinco's own team of engineers in charge of assessing the damage, the existing structural frame of reinforced concrete (i.e., columns, beams and slabs) remains virtually intact.
"The walls will have to be destroyed", explains Dr. Visvalingam. "We will have to build on the existing structural frame. We have decided to rebuild in such a manner as would suit the needs of the modern age."
He estimated the total damage at Rs. 300-400 million, subject however, to careful study and evaluation.
However, despite the bombing, which killed an employee of Ceylinco Universal Ltd., and injured 40 other employees as well as the company's Chairman Lalith Kotalawela, business was very much back to normal within a week.
All companies of the group - numbering more than 50 - were fully operational by the following Tuesday as the affected companies had found alternative accommodation.
Ceylinco Insurance Company, for instance, now operates from Ceylinco Life Centre, Kollupitiya and Shruberry Gardens, Bambalapitiya.
The Finance Company, yet another prominent member of the group is operating from Ceylinco Group headquarters at Hyde Park.
As for Ceylinco's insurance claims, Paul May was in Sri Lanka recently to assess Ceylinco's insurance losses for Lloyds of London, with which three of Ceylinco's reinsurers are reinsured.
According to Ceylinco officials, damage as a whole was minimal as Ceylinco had been carrying out much of its operations, especially in insurance, banking and leasing through 200 branches islandwide.
Besides the Ceylinco companies, Banque Indosuez, housed in the Ceylinco building was totally gutted. It now operates from Jinasena building, Hunupitiya.
Besides Central Bank and Ceylinco House, a number of other buildings in the vicinity, some housing a number of private companies, suffered serious damage and are still very much covered in debris.
These include the Rural Small Producers Sales Centre which is located next to the Central Bank, Renuka Building, George Steuarts Building, Equity - 2 owned by Carsons Cumberbatch and the two Buildings of Mercantile Credit.
There are as yet no sings of occupancy in any of these buildings save for Mercantile Credit, which has since 1992 been managed and administered by the Central Bank, and Bankers Trust in the Renuka Buildings.
Bankers Trust, located on the 5th Floor of Renuka Building was hardly affected by the blast and is today fully operational.
Amro Bank, which occupied the ground floor and first floor of the building has temporarily shifted operations to its Dharmapala Mawatha branch. The Bank hopes to commence operations in Renuka Building once repairs are finished.
George Steuarts, yet another prominent landmark in the area also suffered heavy damage. For the time being, George Steuarts Agencies which deal in pharmaceuticals and motor spares have shifted operations to Galadari Hotel, while George Steuarts Travel Agencies are now operating from Trans Asia Hotel. Its accounts department is presently functioning from its Wekanda stores.
An official estimated the damage to the building at around Rs. 15 million and said that it would take about six months for repairs to be completed. American Express Bank which was also located in the building has temporarily moved to Hotel Taj Samudra while Reuters has moved into Hilton Hotel.
An official at Mercantile Credit said that the temporary office on the ground floor of the four-storeyed building is functioning for recoveries.
Ceylon Tobacco Company (CTC) continues to be the major private sector contributor to the national exchequer. CTC paid a record Rs. 13.9 billion as revenue to government in 1995, an increase of Rs. 1.4 billion over the previous year.
Additionally, CTC contributed Rs. 1.1 billion in value addition and a further Rs. 1.2 billion has been contributed by the retail chain, according to the figures just released on the Company's performance last year.
The CTC's turnover reached the Rs. 16 billion mark last year in comparison with Rs. 13.6 billion in 1994. Profit after tax at Rs. 475 million was an improvement from the previous year's Rs. 313 million.
"This reflects productivity improvements, a lower effective tax rate in line with our capital investments, together with a reduction in interest charges following the disposals of non core assets and properties", CTC Chairman Michael Fenn says in his annual review.
A final dividend of 10.25% has been recommended for adoption at the AGM to be held on March 27. This dividend together with the interim payments already made, represent a total divident of Rs. 380 million for last year.
These results were achieved in spite of the escalation of cigarette prices, not once but twice last year due to increase in excise on tobacco. While prices went up as a result of an excise increase in January last year, a second increase in November saw prices moving up further.
Commenting on local cigarette prices, Chairman Fenn says that the exceedingly high consumer prices of cigarettes relative to the price of similar products sold throughout the rest of the region, is of major concern and is threatening the very fabric of the tobacco industry in Sri Lanka. "The incidence of excise taxation on our products continues to rank amongst the highest in the world", he adds.
Meanwhile, smuggled cigarettes are becoming a major threat to the local cigarette industry affecting government revenue and employment opportunities in the industry.
Following the increase in the price of cigarettes in November last year, there has been a massive increase in the non-duty paid tobacco segment, notably through the growth of smuggled cigarettes. Government revenue has been adversely affected due to the continuous inflow of smuggled cigarettes and recent surveys have indicated that further erosion will take place during the course of 1996 unless action is taken without delay.
The CTC has made representations to government and key decision-makers on the need to change the existing legislation and to impose punitive penalties which would deter persons from engaging in the illegal trade in cigarettes.
"Given the very high returns available to smugglers, we firmly believe that unless firm action is taken by the government, this type of trade will continue to increase and will soon reach alarming proportions", Mr Fenn says.
Describing 1995 as "a year of change and progress", Mr Fenn claims that the drive aimed at transforming CTC into a world class organization is being maintained. "There have been major changes in all areas of our business and a number of exciting new initiatives have been undertaken during the year, initiatives which will continue to drive CTC forward".
He sums up the year's achievements by highlighting the key activities. These included:
* Strengthening of Brands and trade marketing culminating in the successful relaunch of John Player Gold Leaf.
* Implementation of restructuring and productivity improvement programmes which continue to have a substantial beneficial impact on the Company's performance.
* Modernisation of the factory investing a sum of Rs. 156 million.
* Continuing the policy of concentrating on the core businesses, resulting in the sale of CTC Trading.
* Concentrating on enhancing the quality of the products through an on-going operator skills training programme.
* Improving working practices and productivity following the successful completion of a Collective Agreement.
Mr. Fenn describes the change of excise taxation structure by the Government as a move in line with international practice. Now the major portion of excise taxes are imposed on the manufactured product whilst a nominal sum of Rs. 10 per kg is imposed under the Tobacco Tax Act prior to manufacture.
The company has told the Government that tobacco taxation be brought under the purview of one single Act which would make the administration of excise duty far easier as it would come under the control of one government department.
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