ADB provides loan assistance for electricity supply reliability improvement project

Country Director of the ADB's Sri Lanka Resident Mission Sri Widowati Monday and Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga, Secretary to the Treasury, Ministry of Finance, signed for the Government of Sri Lanka

The Asian Development Bank has signed an agreement granting a loan of $ 115 million to support electricity supply reliability improvement with the aim of achieving 100% electrification by providing access to electricity to the population living in underdeveloped areas and small isolated islands in the Northern Province. 

The project focuses on four major components: renewable energy systems development consisting of establishing hybrid renewable energy systems in small isolated islands in the Northern Province and support for productive energy use for people living in small isolated islands and rural communities, reliability improvement of the medium voltage network, rural electrification and distribution performance monitoring improvement and Improving reactive power management in the transmission system.

The project will cover 106 rural electrification schemes and 2,372 km of low voltage line extensions. The project aims to provide electricity to about 35,710 rural households including the conflict-affected Northern and Eastern provinces as well as the Uva and North Central provinces where the current electrification level is lower than in other parts of the country. The improvement of the medium voltage network will enhance the quality and reliability of the electricity supplied to more than 493,000 consumers.