New map launched following construction of China-funded port city: Sri Lankan Official

Sri Lanka's Survey Department has launched an updated map of the island country due to developments such as the China- invested Colombo Port City, Surveyor General P. Sangakkara said here Thursday.

In an interview with Xinhua, Sangakkara said that the "50,000" series of the Sri Lankan map which was completed in 1995, had been updated and a new version had been launched recently.

Sangakkara said that the notable changes in the new map are the Colombo Port City, the Hambantota Port in the south, highways and the Moragahakanda Reservoir, in the north central province.

"We completed the updated map series this March and it is now available for the public. We have included all the changes within the past 15 years into this series. We have included all these new developments, especially the Colombo Port City and the Hambantota Harbor," Sangakkara said.

To launch the updated map, Sangakkara said that satellite images were used as well as ground survey methods.

From this year, the Survey Department will update the map every two years.

A team from the Survey Department has also held discussions with Google aiming to partner with them in the future to have a detailed map available on Google for the benefit of the local and international audience.

Sangakkara said that the department was also hoping to launch a crowd sourcing project soon where the public themselves could update the map. Further, Sangakkara said that despite the notable developments such as the Colombo Port City and the Hambantota Port, Sri Lanka still retains its shape.

"There has only been minor changes and this is not detectable in the large scale. Sri Lanka still retains the shape as the pearl of the Indian Ocean," Sangakkara said.