France’s contributions to humanitarian and development actions in Sri Lanka
1/ In the Northern Province
Over the past two years and in addition to its yearly contributions to UN agencies for their operations worldwide, France has provided 2 225 000 euros to UNHCR in Sri Lanka to continue its support to internally displaced persons in the camps and facilitate their return home.
France also supported several French NGOs to conduct humanitarian and early recovery operations such as running mobile health clinics in remote areas, providing families in return areas with sanitary facilities, providing health facilities to handicapped people and ensuring a satisfactory access to drinking water in the IDP camp of Menik Farm.
In 2012, France will co-finance together with the Government of Sri Lanka and the Asian Development Bank the Jaffna and Kilinochchi Water Supply and Sanitation Project. This project aims at giving 300 000 people living in targeted urban and rural areas in the peninsula a good access to water and sanitation as well as at strengthening the capacity of local structures to protect and manage water resources. The construction of the water supply, sewerage and sanitation networks will start in 2012 and take 5 years.
On completion, 300 000 people will have access to water and 100 000 people will benefit from the sewerage infrastructures, thus improving health, human and economic development and reducing the vulnerability of the populations. Indirect impacts will benefit to 9,000 farmers’ families.
France’s contribution will help finance part of the water supply component of the project, through a concessional loan of 35 M Euros to the Government of Sri Lanka. Among other structures, this loan will enable the construction of a water intake, a raw water transmission main, a water treatment plant, a pumping station and a treated water transmission main.
2/ In the Eastern Province
Though France’s humanitarian aid came to an end in the Eastern part of the country in 2010, we’re committed to support the province’s reconstruction and development through a major development project, which is currently being implemented:
The project focuses on the construction and rehabilitation of public infrastructure in the district of Trincomalee, such as roads (the A15 road between Trincomalee and Thirukkodiyamadu, the B10 road between Kantale and the seashore and the C-Class coastal road of Trincomalee district), bridges (5 bridges on the A15), the networks for water supply and distribution of electricity, and community development infrastructure (schools, libraries, medical centres, etc), through a very concessional loan of 79 million Euros from the French Development Agency to the Government of Sri Lanka.
France’s action in the water sector will further be accompanied by the rehabilitation of the water treatment unit of Kantale, financed through a concessional loan (12.5 million Euros) from the French ministry of Economy, Finances and Industry under the RPE - Réserve Pays Emergents - scheme and undertaken by the French company VINCI. Once this will be fully completed, more than 300 000 inhabitants will have access to water of better quality.
In 2010, PROPARCO (the private sector arm of the French Development Agency), signed a second loan agreement for 10 million Euros with the leasing company Lanka Orix, in order to support its investments in the Northern and Eastern parts of the country. This will enable small and medium companies, which had previously no access to loans, to purchase new equipment and develop their activities. This new funding aims at rebalancing regional disparities and boost the recovery of the local economy.
AFD also supports the. French NGO Solidarité Laïque with a 178 000 Euros grant accorded in 2009 for the implementation of an educational project which aims to contribute to the goal “Education for All” in Eastern Province by improving exchanges between civil society and public authorities in charge of Education sector.
3/ Country-wide projects
AFD provided 10 million Euros for a project to uplift the construction sector in the Tsunami affected area through a very concessional line of credit of 9 million Euros managed since 2005 by Central Bank of Sri Lanka and through the construction of the Advanced Construction Training Academy – ACTA for 1 million Euros. ACTA is a vocational training centre for the construction sector which begins to have an international reputation thanks to its partnership with Northumbria University in United Kingdom.
In addition, the French Ministry of Economy, Finances and Industry has provided financing for several other projects under the RPE facility as part of the French Government’s continuing commitment to help Sri Lanka in the reconstruction process:
6.5 million Euros for Spatial Information Infrastructure for Reconstruction Monitoring (SIIRM) along the coastal line districts from Trincomalee to Galle which was completed in 2009.
9.5 million Euros for improving the efficiency of operation theatres and for the provision of oxygen concentrators to hospitals in remote areas: six modular operating theatres, ten on site oxygen production units, two cardiac catheterization laboratories, a CT scanner and 20 defibrillators were provided.
22,05 million Euros for the supply of 46 metallic bridges dedicated to the reconstruction of bridges ont the National Highway network by the Road Development Authority has been confirmed on 20th December 2011. The amount of the loan is 22.050.000 Euros
6.5 million Euros have been agreed for the installation of an IV (intravenous fluid) plant. The project is still being studied by the Ministry of Health.
France is also supporting the financing of the extension and the improvement of the Laxapana and Wimalasurendra hydro power plants, under export credit (more than 40 million Euros).
France’s contributions to humanitarian and development actions in the Maldives
AFD in Maldives: post-tsunami reconstruction projects
After the tsunami that hit the Maldives in December 2004, the Government of France asked the French Development Agency to intervene in the Maldives on the basis of a very specific mandate in order to take part in the reconstruction of damaged infrastructures and support the small and medium enterprises.that were hit by the tsunami This specific mandate, limited in time, has relied on very concessional financings. AFD’s commitments in Maldives amount to 18,5 million Euros.
1/ Support to the reconstruction of the infrastructures destroyed by the Tsunami of 2004: Infrastructure Project
A project of reconstruction of infrastructure for a total of 15 million Euros was launched in 2008 and is currently ongoing. This project includes the rehabilitation of harbors in two islands and the construction of sewerage networks in two other islands:
Rehabilitation of harbors for 5 million Euros
This component aims to rebuild the damaged docks, breakwaters strengthen and deepen the basins and access channels for the islands of Ungoofaaru and Manadhuu.
Construction of a sewerage networks for 10 million Euros
This component aims to build sewerage networks on the islands of Laamu Gan and Gaafu Dhaalu Thinadoo.
In addition, a Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Housing and Environment is also funded under the project.
2/ Support SMEs hit by the tsunami: The credit line at Bank of Maldives
A line of credit of 5 million dollars was also conducted with the Bank of Maldives to refinance loans for small businesses that were hit by the tsunami (mostly fisheries and construction enterprises). The funds are now fully disbursed by the AFD.
AFD in Maldives: the French Fund for Global Environment
Evaluate and monitor the impact of climate change: Mapping project
The French Fund for Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded from 2009 to 2011 a project for the assessment and the monitoring of the global warming’s effects in the Maldives through the acquisition of environmental data and the development of operational tools and the development of indicators for monitoring and evaluation. The operation fits into the overall strategy at the National Action Plan for Adaptation (NAPA), supported among others by the Global Environment Fund (GEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) the European Union and the World Bank.
The total amount of the project is 6.4 million Euros and the contribution of FFEM, 1.5 million Euros, represents 23.7% of the total budget.
The project has been implemented in sound conditions by the French group FIT and a final symposium was held in the Maldives in early July 2011.
(Last update: 25th January 2012)
