Iran help to light up 1,000 villages

Wasantha RAMANAYAKE

An agreement was signed to provide $ 106 million under an Iranian credit facility to electrify 1,000 rural villages, at the Power and Energy Ministry on Tuesday, a Ministry official said.

The official said the credit facility was provided on a request by President Mahinda Rajapaksa the Iranian Government.

Ministry Secretary M.M.C. Ferdinando, Iranian Government Suneer Electricity Company Managing Director Rahimi Gorji and Ceylon Electricity Board Chairman E.A.S.K. Edirisinghe signed the agreement.

According to the official, the credit facility will be utilized to establish 1,000 substations and develop 1,000 km long low-voltage three-phase distribution lines in rural villages covering all districts. This will especially benefit people in the Eastern Province, the official said.

The official pointed out that once the program was commissioned the middle and low voltage distribution network would be developed. The official added that on a request by the President, the original loan facility of $ 65 million had been increased to $106 million.