Indian team in Sri Lanka to monitor progress of projects

COLOMBO: A team from the ExportImport Bank of India was in Sri Lanka to monitor the progress of projects under India’s Lines of Credit (LoC) scheme, particularly in the railway sector, media reports said.

The team visited sites of the Northern Railway Rehabilitation Project, including Kankesanthurai Railway Line, Omanthai-Pallai railway line, etc, apart from evaluating the signalling and telecommunication systems installed under the LoC, Colombo Gazette cited a statement by the Indian High Commission here.

The Line of Credit (LOC) is a financing mechanism through which India’s Exim (Export-Import) Bank extends support for export of goods and services from India.

Between 2008-15 Exim Bank has disbursed $11,678 million as LOCs for various development related and capacity building projects across continents. India has provided concessionary credit facilities amounting to about $800 million to Sri Lanka to undertake the Northern Railway Rehabilitation Project.

Engineering and construction company IRCON International implemented the project, including track upgradation and setting up of signalling and communication infrastructure. The Exim Bank team also called on Sri Lanka Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva and senior officials in several Sri Lankan ministries of such as Railways, Department of External Resources, Ministry of National Policies and Economic Affairs, etc.

The Indian High Commission said it remains committed to strengthening its bilateral relationship with Sri Lanka through closer economic ties, enhancing connectivity and continued development partnership.