India to supply 160 passenger coaches worth $ 82.6 m to Sri Lanka Railways

A contract agreement for around $ 82.64 million for the supply of 160 passenger coaches from India under concessional financing was signed between RITES Ltd. and the Sri Lankan Government in Colombo on Friday (7 September). 

The contract agreement was signed by RITES Ltd. Director (Technical) Mukesh Rathore and Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation of Sri Lanka Secretary G.S. Withanage. The passenger coaches will be custom-made in India to suit the requirements of Sri Lanka Railways. 

A Line of Credit (LoC) agreement of $ 318 million for procurement of railway rolling stock and upgradation of rail tracks was signed between the EXIM Bank of India and the Sri Lankan Government in June 2017 in Colombo. The current contract agreement for the supply of 160 passenger coaches will be covered under this LoC.

Procurements of rolling stock from India, which are underway, also include six DMUs, 10 locomotives, 20 container carrier wagons and 30 fuel tank wagons. RITES Ltd. will be supplying the DMUs and locomotives, while Texmaco Rail and Engineering Ltd. will be supplying the wagons.  India has already completed projects close to $ 1 billion under concessional financing in the railway sector in Sri Lanka. 

This project continues India’s efforts to partner Sri Lanka in people-oriented connectivity projects in Sri Lanka.