Sri Lanka and World Bank sign financing agreement for climate resilience programme
The Sri Lankan government has signed a US$ 92 million financing agreement for the Climate Resilience Multi-Phased Programme Phase I Project with the World Bank.
The proposed project is expected to benefit around 11.2 million people across the country by modernising the weather, flood, and landslide forecasting and early warning systems.
Sri Lanka’s Finance Ministry Secretary Sajith Atygalle had signed the agreement on behalf of the government of Sri Lanka while World Bank Country Director for Sri Lanka Faris Hadad-Zervos had signed on behalf of the World Bank.
Sri Lanka is among countries most affected by extreme weather events and is expected to see a 1.2% annual GDP loss by 2050 due to climate change.
“This project is all about protecting people’s lives, property, and public assets,” World Bank Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka Country Director Hadad-Zervos has been quoted as saying.
“Investments to modernize existing systems with state-of-the-art technology and to international standards will help the Government realise its vision of a disaster-resilient Sri Lanka,” he has said, adding that public support and coordination among core stakeholders would lead to the success of this project.
The project builds on the successful collaboration between the Sri Lankan government and World Bank in flood-risk mitigation and long-term resilience to climate risks, which began in 2010 with the Dam Safety and Water Resources Planning project, followed by the Metro Colombo Urban Development Project in 2012 and through the Climate Resilience Improvement Project in 2014.
The project will support the Government departments to better forecast weather-related hazards, improve early warning systems, and invest in flood resilient infrastructure. It will also lay the foundation for reducing flood risks in the Kelani River basin in the long run.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka is engaged in an aggressive development programme covering all key economic sectors while also giving priority to environment concerns as well. Given Sri Lanka’s path towards becoming a business hub in the South Asian region, many multilateral donor agencies have come forward with funding for the development agenda. With the many development programmes and funding availability, foreign businesses/investors could explore the growing opportunities in Sri Lanka’s development programme.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/28092021/Z_8 |