South Asia Tourism Promotion Office in Colombo. ADB Funded Project to Develop Sustainable Cross Border Tourism under South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation Program

17th March 2012, www.dailynews.lk

South Asia countries are to launch a joint tourism promotion website and a tourism coordination office to boost the marketing of natural, cultural and historic attractions across South Asia. In addition a regional promotional office funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) would be set up in Colombo. The two main areas they hope to promote are Buddhism and Eco tourism.

The website and office are part of broader efforts by the countries to develop sustainable cross-border tourism under the South Asia Sub-regional Economic Cooperation program. ADB has been providing technical assistance and other support to help the countries promote and manage tourist attractions such as world-renowned and colorful Buddhist heritage sites. The Tourism Working Group member countries are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

“We are excited about the prospect of more active sub regional cooperation for tourism promotion by means of the new website supported by the new office, which will work closely with the private sector,”said Keiichi Tamaki, Senior Urban Development Specialist in ADB's South Asia Department.

Members of a tourism working group, set up under the SASEC program, who met in Colombo, Sri Lanka also inaugurated the new tourism coordination office based on a new regional tourism action plan for 2011 to 2015. The action plan provides a strategy for developing, promoting and managing sustainable tourist attractions, including Buddhist heritage trails, as well as activities such as Eco and adventure tourism. During the meeting, the working group held talks with ADB and private sector representatives to explore areas where cooperation on tourism could be stepped up.

According to the United Nation World Tourism Organization, in 2010, the countries comprising the South Asia Region received 11.1 million international arrivals or 5.4% of total international arrivals in the Asia Pacific region (204 million). It should be noted that South Asia arrivals do not include the large number of land-based cross border movements by residents of the South Asian countries especially between India and its neighbours.

Of the total arrivals, around 7 million or 63% visited the countries of the sub-region. Based on World Travel and Tourism Council estimates, in 2009 tourism accounted for 6% of sub-regional GDP, employed 37.2 million people and generated around US$20.8 billion in foreign exchange earnings.

“United Nations World Tourism Organization forecasts, by 2015, total international arrivals to South Asia will reach 16.5 million, up by 49% over 2010 and 21 million by 2020 up by 27% over 2015. By 2020, it is estimated that the sub-region will receive 15 million arrivals or 71% of total arrivals to South Asia”, said Additional Secretary, Ministry of Economic Development Nihal Somaweera.

“Tourism sector is one of a handful of fast growing economic sectors of the sub-regional economy that can be both sustainable while making significant contributions towards inclusive development and poverty reduction without having to move people to urban locations to find employment.

“To develop South Asia's unique Buddhist heritage, natural and other tangible and intangible heritage assets into well-developed, integrated, conserved and sustainably managed and globally branded and marketed most preferred destinations”. (SS)

Image: Minister of Economic Development, Basil Rajapaksa and Country Director ADB, Rita O’ Sullivan at the launch of the website at Taj Samudra yesterday. Picture by Shirajiv Sirimane

ADB to Finance Sri Lanka Infrastructure annually at $300mn over next Few Years

07th April 2011, www.lankabusinessonline.com

The Asian Development Bank would finance Sri Lanka with about 300 million dollars annually over the next few years, with roads, water supply and sanitation getting attention, officials said.

In the past three years Sri Lanka had got nearly a billion dollars of Asia Development Financing, with a peak of 457 million dollars in 2010 with emergency financing for former war torn areas.

Country director Richard Vokes said actual disbursements may fall off slightly with financing for port expansion in Colombo coming to an end, but a new 5-year country assistance strategy now being developed.

ADB financed a 300 million dollar breakwater to expand Colombo port in which the first terminal concession which may bring 500 million dollars of private investment has already been awarded.

ADB is also funding the power sector. Sri Lanka is expecting to provide power to all households by 2012.

"Going forward the expected lending level would be about 300 million dollars a year," Vokes told reporters.

"These may change towards the latter part of the 5-year period."

ADB Thursday formally hands over a section of Sri Lanka's Southern highway financed by the bank to the island's road development authority.

Another section financed by Japan is to be completed by July allowing the road to be opened to the public by late July or early August, Vokes said.

ADB is also financing road that link to the Southern highway.

ADB and Japan has been key funders of roads for decades working closely to help fill infrastructure gaps with Sri Lankan authorities. In recent years however China has also got involved.

Word on a key highway to Sri Lanka's north, the A-9 is now being financed by China. ADB is however financing provincial road in the north and the east.

Next year more provincial roads will be financed in the former war zones in Kilinochchi and Mullativu, Vokes said.

"So roads throughout the country, not only in the north and the east, will continue to be an important part of our program, but we are still discussing which road, particularly when we get to 2012, 2013," Vokes said.

Sri Lanka's RDA is keen to build a faster highway connecting Colombo to Kandy which has been identified as a bottleneck that in slowing traffic and has mentioned ADB as a source of financing.

Vokes said there is no firm commitment yet to finance the highway but discussions were on.

ADB is also financing water supply and sanitation.

"Water supply coverage is now pretty good," Vokes said. "Sanitation coverage remains quite low so those are areas that are likely to be important."

Vokes said water supply was now more widespread but more investment was needed in sanitation.

Related Info :

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• Sri Lankan Economy to Boom. Growth Shows Self-Sustainability, Non-Dependence on Policy

• ADB Fund Northern Road Connectivity Project in Sri Lanka

• Rural People Maintaining Roads Reduces Poverty. ADB Projects Brings Two Way Benefits - An ADB Project

China & Capital Markets are Sri Lanka's Top Lenders in 2010

24th November 2010, www.lankabusinessonline.com

China has become Sri Lanka's top bilateral lender up to September 2010, displacing Japan both in commitments and disbursements, with international capital markets dwarfing traditional lenders with a billion dollar bond a month later.

Sri Lanka has racked up 2,481 million US dollars in bi-lateral and multi-lateral financing up to September 2010, the highest ever volume of foreign financing commitments, with China leading the way with 668 million US dollars of export credits.

This year China had displaced Japan, the traditional top lender in both commitments and disbursements, up to September 2010, according to finance ministry data.

Dwarfed

But China's credits were dwarfed by international capital markets this year, with the government raising one billion dollars through a 10-year bond, largely for debt repayment in October.

Japan came in second with a commitment of 424.3 million US dollars including 27.7 million US dollars of grants, the Asian Development Bank came third with 369.7 million US dollars and Russia came in fourth place with a 300 million US dollar credit line.

World Bank had committed 217.8 million US dollars. Iran had committed 111.2 million US dollars in export credits and Australia 105.2 million US dollars.

The finance ministry said this year's financing commitment volume topped the previous high of 2,221.7 million US dollars reported in 2009.

The government was now sitting on an aid pipeline of 6,968 million US dollars which included 1,156.6 million dollars for power and energy and 1,701 million US dollars for roads and transport, 887.3 million US dollars for water supply and sanitation.

Disbursements

Up to end-September a total of 1,460.3 million US dollars of commitments were disbursed.

In actual disbursements also China led the tables with 643.7 million US dollars of which 545 million US dollars were export credits, according to finance ministry data.

The disbursements were swelled with a 445.5 million US dollar trance given to state-run Ceylon Electricity Board to build a second stage of a 900 Megawatt coal power complex. The power plant is a high return, long overdue project.

Japan disbursed 237.1 million US dollars.

The Asian Development Bank had disbursed 187.1 million US dollars including 17.2 million US dollars and the World Bank 120.5 million US Dollars.

ADB Fund Northern Road Connectivity Project in Sri Lanka

05th January 2010, www.lankabusinessonline.com

The Asian Development Bank said the first batch of bidding documents for a road project it is funding in northern Sri Lanka is expected to be available this month. The proposed Northern Road Connectivity Project will cover repairs to about 120 km of national highways in the northern and north-central provinces and about 141 km of provincial roads in the north.

It also includes building or repairing bridges in the two provinces.

The ADB will lend about 130 million dollars for the project, the biggest in the bank’s aid pipeline for the island this year.

Roads in northern Sri Lanka were badly damaged or neglected because of the island’s 30-year ethnic war which ended in May 2009 when government forces defeated Tamil Tiger separatists.

The ADB said in a statement procurement to be financed under the project will be carried out in accordance with ADB's procurement guidelines.

The bank has said it is refocusing its aid to Sri Lanka to cover rebuilding of the north and east where infrastructure was destroyed or neglected because of the war which was fought mainly in those areas.

Rural People Maintaining Roads Reduces Poverty. ADB Projects Brings Two Way Benefits - An ADB Project

16th December 2009, www.dailymirror.lk

Isolated rural villages in Sri Lanka will be connected to provincial road networks through an innovative project that will work closely with local governments to employ poor villagers, particularly women, to rehabilitate and maintain rural access roads in their area.

The ADB Board of Directors approved a $3 million grant from the Japan Fund For Poverty Reduction - funded by the Government of Japan and administered by ADB - to finance the project in more than 60 villages in the Eastern and North Central provinces.

Some 10,000 families in the project area have been marginalized from mainstream development and remain in poverty because rural access roads to their villages are either in poor conditions or do not exist. Most of the families depend on the government's welfare program, which barely meets their daily needs.

The ADB project will upgrade about 250 km of rural access roads, and pilot test a plan to improve rural transport services, to connect local communities to the provincial roads or to essential social services facilities. Four local non government organizations (NGOs) will be retained to identify, train and supervise up to 2,000 community members to work on road rehabilitation and maintenance. Another 900 community members will be given relevant skill training for livelihood development. At least 50% of the workers will be women, with opportunities extended to war widows and female heads of household.

The NGOs will also assist the workers in opening and maintaining bank accounts so that a portion of the workers income will be paid directly into individual accounts. These savings may provide a base for the establishment of micro and small-scale enterprises after completion of the road work.

"Isolation and marginalization are fundamental causes of poverty, and the villages in the project area have been isolated and marginalized for many years," said Francesco Tornieri, Social Development Specialist in ADB's South Asia Department.

"Through the rehabilitation of rural access road, this project will help address the underlying causes of poverty and provide sustainable livelihood opportunities to a considerable number of the poor," added Mr. Tornieri.

ADB Offers Trade Finance Facilities to Sri Lankan Banks. Bank of Ceylon, DFCC Vardhana Bank Limited and NDB Bank Plc signs Agreements

09th December 2009, www.dailymirror.lk

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) yesterday signed new trade financing agreements with Bank of Ceylon, DFCC Vardhana Bank Limited, and NDB Bank Plc.

The agreements are part of ADB's Trade Finance Facilitation Program (TFFP) and will give the banks additional room to provide essential financing to Sri Lanka's exporters and importers. At the same time, the agreements will help the banks develop relationships with their international peers, which should promote partnerships and knowledge sharing in the future.

Bank of Ceylon Plc signed its first agreement under the program while DFCC Vardhana Bank Limited and NDB Bank Plc expanded their existing relationships with ADB.

Trade finance is less risky than many other forms of lending because it carries shorter maturities and supports the transfer of tangible goods. Nevertheless, companies in emerging markets, particularly small and medium-sized firms, have typically faced difficulties in accessing enough credit to fill export orders or get the goods they need from overseas.

The TFFP addresses this challenge by working with international and local banks to provide the support they require to ensure their importing and exporting clients get the loans and guarantees they need to do business.

"Trade is a key tool for promoting economic expansion. Stronger economic growth translates into jobs and higher incomes which, in turn, help to reduce poverty," said Philip Erquiaga, Director General of ADB's Private Sector Operations Department.

ADB's Asian Development Outlook 2009 Update, released in September, forecast Sri Lanka's economy would grow 4% this year and 6% in 2010. At the same time, the report predicts the country to have a current account deficit of 3% of gross domestic product this year and a 5% shortfall next year.

"Sri Lanka's banks and companies will benefit enormously from greater access to international trading and banking networks as the Sri Lankan economy emerges from the turmoil of a conflict that has restrained investment and growth for several decades," said Robert van Zwieten, Director of ADB's Private Sector Capital Markets Division, of which the trade finance program is a part.

Under the $1 billion TFFP, which began operating in 2004 and was expanded earlier this year, ADB provides finance and guarantees through and in conjunction with international and developing member country banks to support trade deals in developing countries. Since trade finance can roll over and as the program attracts private-sector support, the program can provide $3 billion in finance every year.