Rs. 37 b fresh boost from World Bank

• Concessionary financial assistance for two new major projects in education and urban development

With the graduation of Sri Lanka to a middle income country status, the Government has paid further attention to develop education and urban development sectors in order to meet new challenges of the 21st century.

In this context, it was decided to expedite development programs which have already been formulated pertaining to the above sectors with foreign assistance.

In response to the request made by the Government of Sri Lanka, the World Bank has agreed to provide financial assistance of US$ 314 m (Rs. 37 b) for these development initiatives, having considered the importance and expected long-term benefits.

Finance Ministry said yesterday that the signing of agreement pertaining to the new loan and financing agreements took place on Friday.

Diarietou Gaye, Country Director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives signed the Loan Agreements on behalf of the World Bank while Dr. P.B Jayasundera, Secretary, Ministry of Finance and Planning signed on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka.

The projects for which World Bank funding has been committed are:

Rs. 12 b investment for transforming the school education system as the foundation of a knowledge hub project under the ‘Education Sector Development Framework and Program’ (ESDF&P) 2012-2016: The importance of promoting a high quality general education system by giving attention to the equitable access and efficiency of education is highly recognised by the strategic guidelines stipulated in the development policy framework of the government, the ‘Mahinda Chinthana Vision for the Future’.

The ‘Education Sector Development Framework and Program 2012-2016’ has been formulated in line with the above policy guidelines. Under the above program, ‘Transforming the School Education System as the Foundation of a Knowledge Hub Project’ has been formulated to ensure the students’ acquisition of cognitive and soft skills demanded by the future knowledge economy by minimising the regional disparities and ensuring the quality of education.

Under this program, it is proposed to establish 5,000 well performing primary-feeder school networks linking to 1,000 secondary schools. Accordingly, primary-feeder schools will be identified and developed in order to cater each selected secondary school under school development program.

The program will support several innovative initiatives to enhance learning out comes and improve the orientation of the education system to the economic development and social needs of the country.

It is also expected to improve and upgrade the school curriculum, and empower school with language laboratories, ICT facilities, science laboratories, multi-purpose rooms, activity rooms and library resources centres, etc. About four million school children, around 215,000 school teachers, 15,000 principals and 3,500 education managers and administrators will directly benefit from the above program.

The provincial level activities of the program will be implemented by the respective Provincial Education Ministries under the guidance of the Ministry of Local Government and Provincial Councils while the Ministry of Education will lead the implementation of the above program at national level.

Accordingly, the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank has agreed to provide US$ 100 million (Rs. 12 b) on a concessionary financial assistance to support the implementation of the above program.

Rs. 25.5 b investment for Metro Colombo Urban Development Project: Colombo City is the commercial and financial heart of the country and it is the international gateway to Sri Lanka, However, a number of obstacles such as improper flood management infrastructure, poor design and maintenance of drainage systems and lack of integrated flood management system are preventing the Colombo Metropolitan Area from realising its full economic potential.

In this context, the Government formulated Metro Colombo Urban Development Project to reduce adverse physical and socio economic impact of flooding in the Colombo Metropolitan Area (CMA) and to improve overall capacity of land use and economic activities in the Metropolitan area. These initiatives would help improve competitiveness of the CMA to cater the booming demand of quality services in the metro region as well as living environment of the CMA.

The project will cover areas under the Colombo Municipal Council and the peripheral local authorities that include the Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte Municipal Council (SJPKMC), Dehiwala Mount Lavinia Municipal Council (DMLMC) and Kolonnawa Urban Council (KUC).

The flood control and water front management component includes Beira Lake restoration, construction of Baddegana Biodiversity Park, restoration and creation of six lakes in the upper catchment of Parliament area. Flood-prone areas such as Nagalagam Street, Kimbula Ela Housing Scheme, Armour Street, Sangaraja Mawatha, Saunders Place, Maligawatta Housing Scheme, Norris Canal, Wijerama Horton Place Junction, Siridhamma Mawatha, Kirulapona Junction, Park Road, etc., will be improved to mitigate flood.

Under this component, it is expected to improve overall drainage system management in the Greater Colombo Water Basin by rehabilitating canal and drain bank protection, reconstruction of new culverts, tunnels and pumping stations, reconstruction of flood-control gates and spillways of tanks, and removing rock outcrops in canal beds, etc.

Under infrastructure development, R.A. de Mel Mawatha and Galle Road will be upgraded along with roads in Dehiwala, Mt. Lavinia, Kotte and Kollonawa local Government areas. In addition Town Hall Square will be improved along with pedestrian overhead bridges at Collpetty and Bambalapitiya. A Marine Drive promenade with leisure park and waterfront recreational park in crow Island are also planned.

The project will be implemented by the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) of the World Bank has agreed to provide financial assistance of US$ 213 m for implementation of the Metro Colombo Urban Development Project.