China has approved a $1 billion loan to revive a long-delayed expressway in central Sri Lanka, the island’s government said Monday.
Construction of the first phase of the road linking the capital Colombo with the hill resort of Kandy had been delayed for more than two years due to a lack of foreign funding, according to local media reports.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office said he met the Chinese ambassador on Monday, who told him Beijing had decided to approve the loan that will be provided through the Export-Import Bank of China.
China has emerged as the largest single lender to Sri Lanka in recent years, securing contracts to build roads, railways and ports under the former government of Mahinda Rajapakse.
After Wickremesinghe came to power in January 2015, many projects were suspended pending investigations into corruption allegations, but construction work has recently restarted following renegotiations.
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Source: Seychelles News Agency
