US $ 100 m Korean projects in the pipeline

Sanjeevi JAYASURIYA

Korea has been providing Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Sri Lanka since 1991 and looking forward to continue its support in identified sectors of development.

The Korean Government has provided economic cooperation worth US $ 0.5 billion and many projects have been undertaken covering wide spectrum of sectors. There has been equal number of projects based on grants and concessionary loans with low interest rates, Embassy of the Republic of Korea Counsellor Wie Young Ha told Daily News Business.

There are several projects to the tune of over US $ 100 million on the pipeline. There has been 33 percent increase on the Korean assistance over the years, he said.

The 2009 – 2012 $ 200 million agreement will be ending this year and new framework will be in place covering 2013 to 2015 for same amount of funding. The possibilities are looked in to further expand the assistance. Korea is concentrating on setting up country specific partnerships where the draft is already given to Ministry of Finance. The revised proposals will be submitted where necessary.

“We are aiming at meeting the demand of the respective grant. The success of the ODA is mainly depends on supporting the areas where there is a demand. The first principle is to respect the demand on the ground. Korea will contribute to balanced development in Sri Lanka in keeping with the government’s policies,” he said.

We will focus on few priority areas which are currently been discussed. These areas include infrastructure on road connectivity, environment on water supply and management and education of technical and vocational and governance.

Korea will continue to support the fast track development of Sri Lanka and will also enhance investment to the country in future, the counsellor said.