Sri Lankan government gets 13.9mn Euro concessional loan from the French government
The French government has decided to provide a Rs. 2,514 million (€ 13.9 million) concessional loan to the Sri Lankan government for the Development of Six Mini-Dairies Project to be implemented.
The decision has been made to mark more than 45 years of development cooperation between Sri Lanka and France.
The proposed project is to include the complete modernisation of the pre-selected six mini-dairy cooperative societies and organisations by establishing state-of-the-art equipment chains to produce pasteurised and sterilised milk at a capacity of 4,500 litres per day.
According to reports, the high-quality equipment will allow stable, homogenised and high-quality products with computerised monitoring. In addition, in order to improve the breeding process and carry out a proper market survey on the dairy sector of Sri Lanka, technical assistance will be extended to dairy farmers by a French non-profitable entity. This initiative is also expected to support the Government’s ambitious target to achieve self-sufficiency in dairy production by 2020 and contribute to closing the gap between demand for dairy and local supply.
Secretary to the Ministry of Finance and Mass Media, Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga signed the relevant Protocol Agreement on behalf of the Sri Lankan Government and Chargé D’affaires of the Embassy of France in Sri Lanka, Isabelle Miscot, signed the relevant agreement on behalf of the French Government.
Economic Counsellor of the Embassy of France in Sri Lanka, Hervé Sarnelli was also present at the event held at the Ministry of Finance and Mass Media.
OSL take:
The concessional loan granted by the French government to the Sri Lankan government to uplift the local dairy industry indicates the funding availability for the Development of Six Mini-Dairies Project. Therefore, interested investors could look at the opportunities in the local dairy market.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/31122017/Z_1 |