China to provide aid worth USD 1.5 bln to Sri Lanka

PTI | India Report
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China will provide aid worth USD 1.5 billion to Sri Lanka to improve its infrastructure, which was badly damaged during the 30-year-old civil war with LTTE.

The fund will be used within three years for the construction of roads, bridges, water supplies, irrigation and power project, Cabinet spokesman Anura Yapa said here today.

The Cabinet had approved the move to sign a MoU with the China Development Bank for the purpose, Yapa said.

External Affairs Minister G L Peiris on Tuesday said that the government was looking forward to renewed cooperation with China in pursuance of President Mahinda Rajapaksa's meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao at St Petersburg, Russia last week.

Chinese have extended extensive funding support to Sri Lanka in recent years. The biggest of them are the new port and airport being built in Hambantora, Rajapaksa's home base.

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