A loan Agreement was signed between the Government of Sri Lanka and ING Bank NV of the Netherlands for an amount of EUR 45 million (around LKR 9 billion) for Strengthening the Health Delivery Service in the Northern Province on Wednesday 10 July 2019 at the Hague, the Netherlands.
The financing Agreement was signed by Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, Dr. R. H. S. Samaratunga and Mr. Willem van Nouhuys and Ms. Chloe Ajamlou of ING Bank NV, in the presence of Ambassador of Sri Lanka for the Netherlands, Mr. Sumith Nakandala and Ms. Joanne Doornewaard, the Ambassador for Netherlands to Sri Lanka at the Headquarters of Netherlands Enterprise Agency in the Hague.
With the conclusion of the conflict in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka, the Government of Sri Lanka took up the challenge of rehabilitating and reconstructing services and infrastructure facilities in the Northern Province. Under this programme, special attention was given to improve health facilities and services through reconstructing infrastructure and increasing the capacity of the human resources. In this context, the Government of Sri Lanka has proposed to improve healthcare facilities for the District General Hospitals of Killinochchi and Vavuniya and Base Hospitals of Point-Pedro and Mankulam.
Dr. Samaratunga, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, after signing the loan Agreement expressed Sri Lanka’s gratitude to the ING Bank NV and Development Related Infrastructure Investment Vehicle of the Netherlands (DRIVE) for supporting the Government of Sri Lanka’s endeavour to enhance health related infrastructure in the Northern Province.
The ING Bank NV will provide an export credit facility to cover 75% of the contract cost. The balance 25% of the contract will be financed by a grant extended by the DRIVE of the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
