Colombo, 01st December 1998 – President of the Asian Development Bank Mitsuo Sato and Sri Lankan Ambassador in Philippines, P.G.Karunasiri singed an agreement for an ADB loan of US dollars 70 million, equivalent to SDR 52.8 million, at ADB Headquarters in Manila recently.
According to a release issue by the Ministry of Finance, the loan will be utilised for the improvement of urban infrastructure and to finance housing improvements for low-income groups. The release also said that the project will support government efforts to give local authorities more responsibility for providing and financing infrastructure including municipal services and to improve the capability of local governments.
The release further said that the project will also improve roads, water supply and drainage systems, bus terminals and public markets in up to 27 secondary towns each with a population of between 5,000 and 150,000 in seven provinces. The release also said that one part of the project will be to support efforts between urban local authorities and private landowners to develop current unplanned and un -serviced urban land. The release added that the project will also support private partnerships to develop and operate community sub-projects, specially for water supply and solid waste disposal.
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