Japanese grant to assist 1,300 war affected people in Sri Lanka

The Japanese government has extended grant assistance to 1,300 people that are living in Sri Lanka’s former war zones in the northern and eastern parts of the country, a top official said yesterday. As part of Japan’s continued engagement with Sri Lanka, Rs. 90 million (about US$ 723,568) was given as a grant to JEN.

Japanese Ambassador Nobuhito Hobo told media after the contract signing that loans for large scale infrastructure development will also be encouraged along with rehabilitation grants.

Last week, the Sri Lankan Government agreed to Rs. 53.8 billion (about US$ 420.3 million) in loans from the Japanese government for a range of infrastructure projects, including power transmission, bridges, and road construction.    

“We view needs such as demining still remaining and people still need support so we continue to have discussions with the Government of Sri Lanka about these and we extend assistance in various forms. Sometimes we ask Japanese and Sri Lankan officials to work together for assistance and technical cooperation or give grant assistance where suited and then we supply loans, such as for the Kilinochchi transmission line,” Hobo said.

JEN, a Japanese non-governmental organisation, which has been working in Sri Lanka since 2004, will use the funds to set up livelihoods for 1,300 people living in the Eastern and Northern Provinces that were heavily affected by the war.    

“From 1 February, JEN will start a new project. It will assist more than 1,300 returnees by realising stable water supply to their agro fields. It will also help people in the Eastern town of Batticaloa. Even though the internally displaced people were returned in 2011, this is an area that has not received enough assistance since attention then shifted to the north,” said JEN Finance Officer Chisa Watanabe.