Rs. 9 b from Netherlands for strengthening health delivery service in Northern Province 

Monday, 15 July 2019 00:15 -     - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Finance Ministry Secretary Dr. R. H. S. Samaratunga signs the financing agreement with Willem van Nouhuys and Chloe Ajamlou of ING Bank N.V.

A loan agreement was signed between the Government and ING Bank N.V. of the Netherlands for an amount of EUR 45 million (around Rs. 9 billion) for strengthening the health delivery service in the Northern Province last week at The Hague, the Netherlands.

The financing agreement was signed by Ministry of Finance Secretary Dr. R. H. S. Samaratunga and ING Bank N.V.’s Willem van Nouhuys and Chloe Ajamlou in the presence of Sri Lankan Ambassador to the Netherlands Sumith Nakandala and the Ambassador for Netherlands to Sri Lanka Joanne Doornewaard, at the Headquarters of Netherlands Enterprise Agency in The Hague.

With the conclusion of the conflict in the Northern Province, the Government took up the challenge of rehabilitating and reconstructing services and infrastructure facilities in the Northern Province. Under this program, special attention was given to improve health facilities and services through reconstructing infrastructure and increasing the capacity of the human resources. In this context, the Government had proposed to improve healthcare facilities for the District General Hospitals of Kilinochchi and Vavuniya and Base Hospitals of Point-Pedro and Mankulam.

Ministry of Finance Secretary Dr. R. H. S. Samaratunga, after signing the loan agreement, expressed Sri Lanka’s gratitude to the ING Bank N.V. and Development Related Infrastructure Investment Vehicle of the Netherlands (DRIVE) for supporting the Government’s endeavour to enhance health related infrastructure in the Northern Province. 

The ING Bank N.V. will provide an export credit facility to cover 75% of the contract cost. The balance 25% of the contract will be financed by a grant extended by the DRIVE of the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

 

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