Sri Lanka's Ocean University to be shifted to Southern Province

Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa has directed the relevant officials to shift the Ocean University of Sri Lanka (Sagara Vishwa Vidyalaya) to Matara in the Southern Province.


The Ocean University is now situated in Mutwall in Colombo 15. It is to be shifted to Wellamadama area close to Ruhuna University, sources say.

The University is to use the newly set up buildings of two schools in Matara. The buildings were constructed to relocate St. Servatius' College and Mahamaya Girls' College that were devastated by tsunami. But the school authorities have expressed unwillingness to move from the present locations.

The Ocean University plans to work in close collaboration with the Universities in Iceland, Norway, Canada, New Zealand and Japan for the development of maritime and fisheries studies, according to the University officials.

Ocean University of Sri Lanka was established in 1999, by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, when he was the Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, with the objective of producing necessary manpower for the sustainable management and utilization of fisheries and oceanic resources.