High Commission of India signed two significant agreements for the construction of 10,000 houses in plantation areas of Sri Lanka under Phase-IV of Indian Housing Project on 28 November 2023. Separate agreements with the two Implementing Agencies namely National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) and State Engineering Corporation (SEC) are aimed at early rollout of construction of the 10,000 houses. Counsellor and Head of Development Cooperation Wing, Mr. Eldos Mathew Punnoose, Chairman of SEC, Mr. Rathnasiri Kalupahana, and General Manager, NHDA, Mr. Kankanamalage Ajantha Janaka were the signatories to the two agreements.
Phase-IV of Indian Housing Project is spread across 11 Districts and 6 provinces of Sri Lanka. It may be recalled that the overall commitment of Government of India under the Indian Housing Project currently stands at 60,000 houses. While 46,000 houses were completed in Northern and Eastern Provinces in the first two phases, the third phase for the construction of 4000 houses in plantation areas is nearing completion.
Housing receives focused attention in India’s people-centric development cooperation partnership with Sri Lanka. Beyond Indian Housing Project, 2400 houses are being built across the 25 Districts of Sri Lanka under different housing projects. India’s development cooperation portfolio is around USD 5 billion, with nearly USD 600 million being in grants.
