The committee also includes the counry's Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa and former Deputy Minister of Justice Dilan Perera.

Under Cabraala, a qualified accountant, Sri Lanka has undergone substantial economic growth with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) doubling, a fall in unemployment, and reduction in poverty.

He has been leading on the economic reconstruction in the areas badly affected by Sri Lanka's civil war, committing the Central Bank and the Government to spend $1 billion (£639 million) a year from 2010 to develop the northern Tamil-dominated parts of the country, including building hospitals and schools.

Building infrastructure facilities such as stadiums and the Games Village at Hambantota will be among the tasks entrusted to the new committee as it tries to beat its only rival, the Gold Coast in Australia.

Rajapaksa, who attended the Closing Ceremony of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi last month, urged them to showcase Sri Lanka's emerging potential, including the rapid growth of Hambantota.

The town was hit hard by the 2004 tsunami but is currently undergoing a number of major development projects, including the construction of a new sea port, international airport and an international cricket stadium that will host games for the 2011 Cricket World Cup.

The President also instructed the committee to launch a programme to identify sporting talents in rural areas and provide them with the opportunity to compete internationally.

One of the first tasks of the new committee will be to hire a "reputed consultancy firm" to advise and assist it in the preparation of its bid document and manage other logistics in relation to the Commonwealth Games in 2018, Cabraala said.

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