The Colombo Representative Office of the Korea Eximbank, in a statement released yesterday said it had approved a total of USD 785.07 million for development projects in Sri Lanka, making Sri Lanka 5th among 54 countries eligible for aid.

385 million USD (which is almost 49% of the total) has been allocated to transportation sector, while the second most prominent sector in terms of fund allocation is water and sanitation which is 205 million USD (that is 26% of the total), the Korea Eximbank said.

In the statement it said, ‘Korea Eximbank has two key functions. Firstly, Korea Eximbank operates Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) entrusted by Ministry of Strategy and Finance of Korea, through which high concessional bilateral loans are being provided to the Government of Sri Lanka as means of Official Development Assistance (ODA). Secondly, Korea Eximbank functions as an export credit agency to finance for international trade and overseas investment.

With regard to our priority sectors identified by the Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) with Sri Lanka, we focus on supporting education, transportation, water management and sanitation as well as rural development. These sectors have been prioritized in line with Sri Lanka’s national development plans, Korea’s capacities and expected financial resources.

Korea Eximbank approved its first EDCF ODA project for Sri Lanka in 1990, for the rehabilitation of the Colombo-Galle road. As of now, it has approved USD 785.07 million for 29 development projects in Sri Lanka. In terms of the loan amounts committed from EDCF, Sri Lanka is ranked at fifth place among all 54 eligible countries. From this total EDCF commitment of 785.07 million USD, I would like to tell you that 385 million USD (which is almost 49% of the total) has been allocated to transportation sector. The second most prominent sector in terms of fund allocation is water and sanitation which is 205 million USD (that is 26% of the total).  

In addition to EDCF projects, Korea Eximbank as an export credit agency also provides financing for international trade and overseas investment, to promote bilateral economic cooperation. Since 1978, Korea Eximbank has provided USD 386 million both for trade between Sri Lanka and Korea and for Korean companies’ foreign direct investments in Sri Lanka.

During the H.E. President Sirisena’s state visit to Korea in November 2017 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between the two countries, a new EDCF Framework Arrangement was signed between the two countries increasing the earlier total EDCF funding amount of 300 million USD up to 500 million USD for the years 2017 and 2019,’ it said.