Cabinet approval has been granted to sign the relevant loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank for the implementation of the sustainable tourism development programme.
The Asian Development Bank has given its consent to release a loan grant of USD $ 100 million to implement a field development programme for Sri Lanka’s tourism sector.
The said loan grant is comprised of 02 components, namely a loan of USD $ 70 million based on the policy component and another loan grant based on the investment component.
Under the investment component, it is expected to perform development activities required for obtaining better contribution to the regional economy across tourism, as well as enhancing the tourism probability and travel capacity enhancement of tourism destinations of Trincomalee and Dambulla (including Sigiriya), control of tourism traffic, and extension of accommodation period.
The Ministry of Urban Development, Construction and Housing is performing as the agency and the execution authority of the projects coming under the said investment component.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the joint proposal presented by the Minister of Tourism and the Minister of Urban Development to sign the loan agreements relevant to obtaining the proposed loan grant. (Newswire)