Funds pledged to North

In an interview with the Financial Times on February 08, the Central Bank Governor said that Sri Lanka plans to spend USD1bn (EUR730m,-639m) a year to bring the northern parts of the country “up to scratch” following decades of civil war that ended last year.

Sri Lanka plans to spend $1bn) a year to bring the northern parts of the country “up to scratch” following decades of civil war that ended last year, its Central Bank Governor told the Financial Times, writes Serena Tarling in London .

Ajith Nivard Cabraal

Ajith Nivard Cabraal said the money would be devoted to hospitals, schools and Government buildings, improvement of north-south roads and restoration of electricity supply. The program was part of a strategy that focused on the “immediate needs” of accommodation, infrastructure and livelihood, rather than a socio-political reconciliation process, Cabraal said.

Sri Lanka is also in talks with the World Bank to create more private- public partnerships, for example in infrastructure development, to stimulate the economy.

“We are encouraging some companies to go and invest in infrastructure on their own too,” the Governor said, adding that the Tamil diaspora was being targeted.

People displaced in the war who have been resettled are being given loans for smaller projects such as agriculture and animal husbandry. “We need to bring them into the economic sphere,” said Cabraal.

The longer-term strategy focuses on five sectors: ports, aviation, energy, “knowledge” and commerce. “We would like Sri Lanka to be a gateway to India,” Cabraal said.

The Financial Times UK