The High Commission of India has signed two significant agreements for the construction of 10,000 houses in plantation areas of Sri Lanka under Phase IV of the Indian Housing Project.
Separate agreements signed on Tuesday (Nov 28) with the two Implementing Agencies, namely, the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) and the State Engineering Corporation (SEC) are aimed at early rollout of construction of the 10,000 houses.
Counsellor and Head of Development Cooperation Wing, Eldos Mathew Punnoose, Chairman of the SEC, Rathnasiri Kalupahana, and General Manager of the NHDA, Kankanamalage Ajantha Janaka were the signatories to the two agreements.
Issuing a statement, the Indian High Commission said Phase-IV of the Indian Housing Project is spread across 11 Districts and 6 provinces of Sri Lanka.
The overall commitment of the Government of India under the Indian Housing Project currently stands at 60,000 houses.
While 46,000 houses were completed in Northern and Eastern Provinces in the first two phases, the third phase for the construction of 4000 houses in plantation areas is nearing completion.
The Indian High Commission further said that housing receives focused attention in India’s people-centric development cooperation partnership with Sri Lanka.
Beyond the Indian Housing Project, 2400 houses are being built across the 25 Districts of Sri Lanka under different housing projects.
The High Commission added that India’s development cooperation portfolio stands at around USD 5 billion, with close to USD 600 million being in grants. (NewsWire)