Sri Lanka in talks with ADB to double annual funding to $1.2bn

May 08, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s new administration is discussing with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to double its annual funding up to 1.2 billion US dollars, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said.

The funds would be utilised by the Government for development initiatives, budgetary allocations, capacity development and debt relief, he said. “We used to get 300 – 350 million US dollars annually as funds,” Karunanayake told reporters at a press conference on Thursday.

“Now we are in talks with them to get it increased to 1200 million,” However in a recent press conference, ADB said that Sri Lanka’s gross domestic growth would slow to 7 percent in 2015. “Due to the prevailing political uncertainty, investments would be affected and it is very difficult for us to make an economic growth prediction,” Tadateru Hayashi , Senior Country Economist for Sri Lanka, ADB said. Earlier, the ADB predicted a growth of 7.

5 percent for 2015, in its annual economic publication of Asian development outlook 2014.