The contract for Design, Installation, Testing and Commissioning of Signalling system for Sri Lanka Railways from Maho to Anuradhapura (66 km) was signed on Thursday (Sep 21).
According to the Indian High Commission in Colombo, the agreement was signed between the Ministry of Transport and Highways of Sri Lanka and IRCON Ltd in the presence of the Minister of Transport and Highways of Sri Lanka, Dr. Bandula Gunawardane and the High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka, Gopal Baglay.
Governor of the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka, Senthil Thondaman; State Minister of Highways of Sri Lanka, Siripala Gamalath; senior officials from the Sri Lankan Ministry of Transport and Highways, Sri Lankan Railways and IRCON Ltd were also present during the signing event.
The Indian High Commission stated that the mentioned project is being executed under an Indian Line of Credit (LOC) of USD 318 million at a cost of USD 14.90 million.
In his remarks at the event, the High Commissioner stressed the significance of the Signalling project for easing movement of the people of Sri Lanka, accelerating economic recovery of the country and strengthening the cooperation between the two countries. He highlighted that the LOC for this project in the current situation, symbolises the continued desire of the Government and the people of India to stand with the people of Sri Lanka.
The Minister of Transport and Highways, Dr. Bandula Gunawardane thanked the Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and the Government of India for supporting Sri Lanka in multiple ways, especially during the economic crisis last year. It was also pointed out that Sri Lankan railway projects have received support in the form of LOCs in recent times only from India.
Projects of over USD 1 billion in the Railway sector have been completed under 5 Indian LOCs till date. IRCON Ltd, which started its operations in Sri Lanka in March 2009, has completed several projects in Sri Lanka with Indian assistance and has contributed significantly towards rehabilitation and modernization of Sri Lanka Railways, capacity building and employment generation.
At present, IRCON Ltd is undertaking a project for upgradation of the Railway Line including track Rehabilitation and ancillary works from Maho to Omanthai (128 km) at a cost of USD 91.27 million. Under this project, while track rehabilitation work from Anuradhapura to Omanthai has already been completed, work on the section from Anuradhapura to Maho will commence from January 2024.
