Agreement for restoration of Pallai- Kankesanthurai Railway Line signed [November 18 2011]

An agreement for restoration of the Pallai-Kankesanthurai Railway Line in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka was signed today between  B.A.P. Ariyarathna, General Manager, Sri Lanka Railways and  Mohan Tiwari, Managing Director, IRCON (a Government of India Undertaking) in the presence  Minister of Transport Kumara Welgama, High Commissioner of India Ashok K. Kantha,  Dhammika Perera, Secretary, Ministry of Transport and  A.P. Mishra, Member (Engineering), Ministry of Railways, Government of India.

The total cost of the project is US $149.30 Million. The project is likely to be completed within two years from the date of commencement of the work.  The length of Pallai- Kankesanthurai Railway Line is approximately 56 Km.

This project would be funded as a part of the Line of Credit of US $800 million, which has been extended by the Government of India at concessional terms, at an interest rate of LIBOR plus 0.5% (with LIBOR capped at 3%) and a repayment period of 20 years (with a five year moratorium).  The southern coastal railway line project is also being funded under an additional line of credit of US $167.4 million provided by the Government of India.

In his remarks at the signing ceremony,  Minister Welgama noted the deep bonds of friendship between the two countries and expressed his appreciation for the assistance provided by the Government of India. He lauded IRCON for having built a reputation in Sri Lanka for completing projects efficiently and on schedule. 

He recalled that, before the damage to the railway line connecting the Northern Province to the rest of Sri Lanka, the well-known Yala Devi Express used to ply on this route.  The completion of the project and the restoration of the railway line would enable Sri Lanka Railways to restart the services of Yala Devi Express, thus enhancing connectivity with Northern Sri Lanka and boosting economic opportunities.

In his remarks at the signing ceremony, High Commissioner Kantha echoed the sentiments of the Minister and noted that the work on implementation of the three contracts signed earlier between IRCON and Sri Lanka Railways, involving construction of rail-links on the Omanthai-Pallai, Medawachchiya-Madu and Madu-Talaimannar segments, were progressing smoothly and were expected to be completed on schedule, by the middle of 2013.  He expressed hope that the work on reconstruction of the railway network in the North, including on the Pallai-Kankesanthurai segment, would be completed by the end of 2013, thereby giving a big boost to connectivity and economic development in Sri Lanka.  The completion of these projects, coupled with the implementation of the ongoing projects for rehabilitation of the Kankesanthurai harbour and the restoration of the ferry service between Rameswaram (India) and Talaimannar, would also greatly promote connectivity, bilateral trade and people-to-people exchanges between India and Sri Lanka.

The High Commissioner highlighted that these projects were in the nature of partnership projects between the two countries. In this context, he also expressed satisfaction about the fact that IRCON had successfully completed work on the Galle-Matara section of the coastal railway line in February this year and the ongoing work on the Galle-Kalutara segment was likely to be completed by March 2012, ahead of schedule.