Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2012-08-22

Loans from the Exim Bank of China to finance Matara-Beliatta Section of the Matara - Kataragama Railway Line Extension Project

- the Exim Bank of China has agreed to provide a loan of US $200 million and a Chinese Government Concessional Loan of Renminbi Yuan 508 million to cover the total cost of US $278.2 million of the above project. The objective of this project is to improve the transport system in the Southern Region. The project is planned to be implemented in three stages. Stage I of the project includes the construction of the railway line from Matara to Beliatta, Stage II from Beliatta to Weerawila and Stage III from Weerawila to Kataragama. The proposal made by H.E. the President, in his capacity as the Minister of Finance and Planning, to enter into the relevant loan agreements, was approved by the Cabinet.