Iran provides loan for rural electrification project

Colombo: The Power and Energy Ministry has made arrangements to provide electricity to areas with no electricity in Moneragala, Badulla, Matale, Trincomalee and Jaffna Districts with loans from Iran.

According to a Ministry spokesman, the proposal to implement the Iranian loan-assisted Rural Electrification Project, which has been pending for a long time, has finally materialised with the intervention of Power and Energy Minister John Seneviratne and the provision of electricity is due to begin this year.

The spokesman said the government had been able to provide electricity to 81% of the population in the country with loans granted by China, Kuwait and the ADB.

The spokesman also said the objective of the government was to provide electricity to 88% of the population within the next four years, upon the completion of the SEEDA Project and Iranian Project, which will commence this year.