Colombo, June 6 (NIA) – Sri Lanka and India on Tuesday signed an agreement in which the Indian government will provide a 318 million US Dollar credit line for the development of the Sri Lanka railway sector, the Finance Ministry said in a statement here.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his first visit to Sri Lanka in March 2015 had declared a fresh Line of Credit (LOC) of USD 318 million for the development of railway sector in Sri Lanka.
The Indian government has already provided four Lines of Credit for the development of railway sector in Sri Lanka through its EXIM bank amounting to approximately USD 966 million.
These credit facilities have been utilized to improve the Southern and Northern railway lines and for the procurement of rolling stocks for the Sri Lanka Railways, the Finance Ministry said.
“The Sri Lankan Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation has identified that improving passenger
transportation facilities is an urgent requirement to attract more passengers towards railway transportation which is efficient and cost effective,” the Finance Ministry statement said.
“Further, reducing congestions in railways by improving rail tracks and signaling systems is also a key requirement to promote passenger and freight transportation,” the statement added.
The Ministry added that during the last few years, Indian foreign direct investment in Sri Lanka has expanded exponentially.
Presently Indian development assistance mainly focuses on the improvement of economic infrastructural facilities, livelihood development, education, healthcare, capacity building and economic renewal in Sri Lanka.
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