WB help for ICT sector

The World Bank has approved a US $ 11 million concessional credit to Sri Lanka in the form of additional finance to assist Sri Lanka enhance its ICT services that would help gain a considerable competitive advantage in the region post becoming a Middle Income Country, the World Bank said in press release.

The implementing agency for this project will be the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA). The objectives of the project are diverse and are aimed at enhancing growth and equity for the country through improved access and use of information and communication; access to and use of public services on-line by businesses and citizens and enhanced competitiveness of the private sector and in articular of knowledge industry and SMEs. Acting as administrator for the Global Partnership on Output-Based Aid (GPOBA), the World Bank has also approved US $ 5.08 million to increase access to domestic sanitation for low income households.

The grant will subsidize the cost of improved access to sanitation services for households located in areas around Colombo where the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWS&DB) manages sanitation services. An estimated 13,100 households or 65,500 people are expected to benefit from new connections to networked sewerage and another 2,300 households or 11500 people from improvements to existing on-site sanitation systems. The GPOBA funded project will pilot the first Output Based Aid (OBA) approach in Sri Lanka and enable several important innovations.