PM unveils 2 India-backed rail projects in Lanka, visits shrine

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Sunday travelled to the historic city of Anuradhapura and launched two India-backed railway projects, reflecting New Delhi's support for cooperation aimed at developing the island nation's transportation sector.

- Rezaul H Laskar

A day after the two countries finalised crucial agreements to deepen energy and defence ties, the two leaders emphasised the religious and cultural links between India and Sri Lanka by visiting the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi temple in Anuradhapura, a world heritage site and one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in Asia.

Modi and Dissanayake joined a ceremony to inaugurate the 128-km Maho-Omanthai railway line refurbished with Indian assistance of $91.27 million. They also launched another project to build an advanced signalling system from the railway line from Maho to Anuradhapura with an Indian grant of $14.89.

These railway modernisation projects implemented under the bilateral development partnership will help strengthen north-south rail connectivity in Sri Lanka, Indian officials said. The projects will also facilitate the fast and efficient movement of passenger and freight traffic across the country.