NEW DELHI: India and Sri Lanka on Tuesday discussed various issues regarding overall development of railway network including upgradation of signalling and telecommunication system in the island nation.
Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha and Sri Lanka’s Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama discussed a range of issues regarding the development of railway network.
India has been extending concessional Line of Credit (LoC) to Sri Lanka to support various projects in the infrastructure sector including Railways. Till date, more than USD 1 billion of LoC has been extended to Sri Lanka for various railway projects.
During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Colombo in March 2015, a fresh Line of Credit of US $ 318 million for railway sector projects was announced.
“Sri Lanka has proposed to use the fresh LoC for purchase of six diesel multiple units (DMU), each with two power cars and 12 coaches (US $ 106 million) 160 passenger coaches (US $ 62 million) and track materials to rehabilitate around 150 km of Railway track (US $ 150 million),” said an official statement.