Dr. Karunasena Kodituwakku, Ambassador of Sri Lanka in China and Dr. D.J. Pandian, the Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of AIIB Signed two loan agreements for the first two projects in Sri Lanka to be funded by the Beijing based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Now onwards the AIIB will add to the list of multilateral donor institutions such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank which provide loans to Sri Lanka.
The total project cost of the first project, the Reduction of Landslide Vulnerability by Mitigation Measures Project is US$ 110 million. The project will include field investigations, detailed designs, construction works and construction supervision/management activities for the landslide mitigation measures for prioritized 147 sites in 10 selected districts in Sri Lanka.
The objective of the proposed project is to reduce risk and damage from landslides through the implementation of physical mitigation measures. The AIIB, which is a multi-lateral bank, has agreed to finance this project through a loan facility of USD 80 million. The GOSL will provide USD 30 million which will cover the relevant taxes and cost of initial design and investigation work. This project will be implemented by National Building Research Organization (NBRO).
The second agreement was signed to support the Colombo Urban Regeneration Project. The total cost of this project is estimated at USD 287 million. The objectives of this project is to improve the housing conditions of low-income communities and increase land use efficiency in Colombo city through investments in the construction of affordable housing and redevelopment of land. The AIIB has agreed to finance this project through a loan facility of USD 200 million. The GOSL will provide USD 82 million which will cover the relevant taxes and cost of initial design and investigation works. The balance USD 5 million will be provided through a private partner. This project will be implemented by the Urban Development Authority.
Sri Lankan Ambassador met with the Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of AIIB Dr. D.J. Pandian and other senior officials of the AIIB bank prior to the signing of the Loan and discussed further cooperation with AIIB in the future.
In his discussions with Dr. Pandian, Ambassador extended the appreciation of the Government of Sri Lanka for speedy facilitation of funding for the two projects and reiterated that these two projects would be a good example of sincere and good relations between the Bank and the project implementing agencies in Sri Lanka. Hailing the landmark the first two loan projects from the AIIB Ambassador said these two projects will pave the way for more cooperation in the future with AIIB .
Dr. Pandian in turn expressed willingness to support future development activities of Sri Lanka. The Vice President of the AIIB gave his assurance and the blessings for future funding requirements.
Mr. Alexi Gunasekera, Minister Commercial of the Embassy of Sri Lanka, Additional Director General and Director of External Resources Department of Sri Lanka also participated at the discussions. Before the signing of the Loan agreements all participants at the event paid tribute the victims of Easter Sunday catastrophe by observing two minutes silence.
