RIYADH, 17 August 2004 — Sri Lanka has opened pre-qualification of contractors from the Kingdom for a Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) aided project in Colombo.

The SFD grant totals 1.2 billion rupees ($10 million) for a neuro-trauma center at Colombo’s National Hospital. The Sri Lankan government plans to construct a fully equipped neuro-surgical unit at the hospital.

A loan agreement was signed recently between the SFD and the Sri Lankan government at Colombo.

“The objective of the project is to improve the health facilities at the National Hospital by establishing a medical care services unit for patients with head and spinal injuries,” a spokesman at the Sri Lankan Embassy told Arab News.

The project involves construction of a building over an area of 11,000 square meters. It will house three operation theaters, a 12-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU), a 20-bed High Dependency Unit (HDU), a Spinal Injury Unit, Neuro Surgical Unit, and a ward complex for 150 patients. The unit will be provided with advanced medical equipment.

“The facilities available in the existing neuro-surgery units in the Colombo National Hospital are not adequate to cater for the present demand,” the spokesman said.

Applications should reach Colombo by Sept. 20, 2004, in sealed envelopes and they will be opened the same day.

Lately, SFD pitched in with an SR 40 million credit line for the construction of a bridge and a highway in Sri Lanka. The implementation of the project will start as soon as the agreement between the two parties is signed in Colombo next month.

In the past, SFD had offered SR99.9 million for the second stage of a water supply and sewage project and gave SR48.1 million for the Mahaweli Ganga Development Project System B in 1981. Subsequently, Sri Lanka obtained SR85 million for the Mahaweli Ganga Development Project System B Left Bank in 1984.

In 1985, under the Mahaweli Development Project, the Sri Lankan authorities were able to build a model town in the ancient city of Polannaruwa in the eastern part of Sri Lanka where a large market has been named “Riyadh Market”.