RIYADH, 25 August 2004 — Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka will sign a deal worth SR40 million in Colombo tomorrow for the construction of a bridge and widening a highway in the island nation.
The accord will be inked between the Vice Chairman and Director General of the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), Yusuf Al-Bassam, and Sri Lankan Finance Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama.
The proposed bridge will link the Eastern town of Trincomalee with Kinniya, a Muslim village. Currently, there are 100,000 people living in Kinniya and they are using ferry as their mode of transport to come to Trincomalee, the northeastern capital of the island. The Trincomalee-Batticaloa highway will also be widened with the same funds allocated under the agreement.
On the eve of his departure to Colombo leading a four-member delegation, Bassam said the project will be commissioned soon after the signing. “This is the fifth project to be funded by the SFD in Sri Lanka and so far we have given SR 318 million to Sri Lanka for various projects,” Bassam added.
“We have finalized the technical details of the project and the final draft of the agreement has been approved by both the SFD and the Sri Lankan governments,” he said.
The Secretary to the Ministry of Highways S. Amarasekera led a four-member delegation to the Kingdom recently to give the final touches to the agreement.
Saudi Ambassador in Colombo Mohammed Mahmud Al-Ali told Arab News that Saudi Arabia had favorably considered Sri Lanka’s requests since the two countries enjoy excellent bilateral relations.
Recently, the SFD released SR40 million for the construction of the National Neuro-Trauma Center in Colombo. Earlier, the SFD had provided the country with project loans on three previous occasions.
Consular Service
The mobile consular service of the Sri Lankan Embassy will be held on Friday from 7.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. at Al Busthan Hotel in Alkhobar, the embassy announced.
