India and Sri Lanka sign USD 14 mn railway project agreement

Indian Railway Construction International Limited (IRCON) and Transport and Highways MInistry, Sri Lanka yesterday (21) signed a contract for design, installation, testing & commissioning ofsignalling system for Sri Lanka Railways from Maho to Anuradhapura (66 km).

Transport and Highways Minister Bandula Gunawardane and the High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay were present on the occasion.The project is being executed under an Indian Line of Credit (LOC) of USD 318 million at a cost of USD 14.90 million.

In his remarks at the event, High Commissioner Baglay stressed the significance of the project for easing movement of the people of Sri Lanka, accelerating economic recovery of the country and strengthening the cooperation between the two countries. He highlighted that the project in the current situation, symbolises the continued desire of the Government of India to stand with the people of Sri Lanka.

Minister Gunawardane thanked Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and the Government of India for supporting Sri Lanka in multiple ways, especially during the economic crisis last year. It was also pointed out that Sri Lankan railway projects have received support in the form of LOCs (Line-of-Credit) in recent times only from India.

The Indian High Commission stated: “Projects of over USD 1 billion in the Railway sector have been completed under 5 Indian LOCs till date. IRCON Ltd, which started its operations in Sri Lanka in March 2009, has completed several projects in Sri Lanka with Indian assistance and has contributed significantly towards rehabilitation and modernization of Sri Lanka Railways, capacity building and employment generation.

At present, IRCON Ltd is undertaking a project for upgradation of the Railway Line including track Rehabilitation and ancillary works from Maho to Omanthai (128 km) at a cost of USD 91.27 million. Under this project, while track rehabilitation work from Anuradhapura to Omanthai has already been completed, work on the section from Anuradhapura to Maho will commence from January 2024.”