The five-person Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) Evaluation Commission, chaired by Scotland's Louise Martin, has just completed its inspection of Hambantota's only rivals for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, the Gold Coast in Australia, and after a brief two-day stop in Singapore for meetings they have touched down in Sri Lanka ahead of official proceedings which are set to get underway tomorrow.

The Gold Coast received a glowing review from the Commission, who described the Australian city as having the "foundations for a great Games," but Cabraal is excited about showing the Commission Sri Lanka's capability of hosting the competition, which he feels will act as a transformational event for the country following the end of internal conflict as well as act as a catalyst for sustainable economic, social and cultural development.

"We are looking forward to welcoming our friends from the CGF Evaluation Commission to Sri Lanka and the fast-developing Hambantota," he said.

"They will see how seriously we are taking our responsibility as a Candidate City in bidding for the honour of hosting what would be a truly life-changing 2018 Games.

"We have emerged from the conflict and have truly reconciled.

"A Hambantota 2018 Games gives us the catalytic effect to bring about further positive change – to drive sustainable development throughout our unified nation.

"Its benefits will be transformational in particular for our next generation; that's what these Games – and our bid – are really about."

During their stay the Commission will spend the majority of their time in Colombo, Sri Lanka's largest city, due to the lack of infrastructure in place in Hambantota as it is at present a city under construction.

However, the Commission will spend a day in Hambantota, traveling there from Colombo via helicopter.

They will be given a bird's eye view of the venues that will be built in the 'Sports City' which Hambantota hopes will spark a sporting renaissance across the country.

Hambantota itself will feature 90 per cent of the venues and facilities for a potential 2018 Commonwealth Games while there are also major infrastructure upgrades taking place, including a sea port and international airport; a high capacity public transport system and a new road network are in the pipeline.

The Commission will also hear more on the 15 themes in the Hambantota 2018 Bid Book which was presented in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia last month.

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