Colombo: India’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Santosh Jha Monday joined President Ranil Wickremesinghe virtually in a ceremony to launch the construction of 1,300 houses, the first stage of the planned 10,000 houses which will be constructed with Indian grant assistance in the plantation areas in this country.
The High Commission of India in Colombo took to X to share photos from the ceremony. The 1,300 houses, which are going to be constructed, are spread across 45 estates in 10 districts of the country, it said. The Indian High Commission said India’s commitment to Sri Lanka in housing stands at more than 60,000.
High Commissioner @santjha joined H.E President @RW_UNP, and other dignitaries virtually in a ceremony to launch the construction of 1300 houses. This is the first stage of construction of 10,000 houses in plantation areas through grant assistance from #India. pic.twitter.com/Afv7iuHyaU
— India in Sri Lanka (@IndiainSL) February 19, 2024
An announcement regarding the 10,000 houses was made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his last visit to the island nation in May 2017.
Housing receives focused attention in India’s people-centric development cooperation partnership with Sri Lanka. Beyond the Indian Housing Project, 2,400 houses are being built across the 25 Districts of Sri Lanka under different housing projects. India’s development cooperation portfolio stands at around $5 billion, with close to $600 million being in grants, the mission said in a press release in November last year.
PTI