Sri Lanka approves obtaining of third US$ 200 million loan installment from ADB for road development
Sri Lanka’s government has reportedly approved the obtaining of the third US$ 200 million installment of a US$ 900 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for road development projects in several provinces.
The Cabinet had approved a paper presented by Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in his capacity as the Minister of Finance to obtain an amount of US$ 200 million, which is the third installment of a larger US$ 900 million loan by the ADB to develop roads across four provinces, Cabinet Co-Spokesperson, Minister Udaya Gammanpila has been quoted as saying in the local media.
The government of Sri Lanka and ADB Bank had reportedly entered into an agreement for US$ 900 million for the implementation of the second consolidated highways and investment programme.
“It has been planned to renovate and maintain 3,400 km of rural access roads in the Eastern, Northern, Uva and Western Provinces and to renovate 340 km of national roads connecting farmers with socioeconomic centres in those provinces under the program,” the Minister has added.
The entire programme is scheduled to be completed by 31 March 2027, according to local media reports.
OSL take:
The aggressive development programme covering the entire island currently being carried out in Sri Lanka will help in the island’s plans to poise itself as a business destination in the South Asian region. Sri Lanka’s geographical positioning in the Indian ocean and the many trade agreements as well as trade concessions enjoyed by the country have further helped boost the island’s image as a business hub in the region. Sri Lanka’s economy has shown great resilience to external and internal challenges through the years and is once again on the path to recovery after facing the impact of the global Covid 19 pandemic. Given the funding received by Sri Lanka’s development programme from bilateral and multilateral donors, foreign businesses/investors could confidently explore business/investment opportunities in the island.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20210517/Z_6 |