Telf:The Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation has approved with the Sri Lankan government a five-year, $480 million pact to reduce poverty through economic growth. The pact aims to help the Sri Lankan government address two of the restrictions on the country`s economic growth: (1) inadequate infrastructure and transport logistics planning; and (2) lack of access to land for agriculture, services and industrial investors. The Sri Lankan government has completed a study to identify the most restrictive restrictions that prevent private sector-led growth in Sri Lanka. MCC has forwarded to the U.S. Congress a congressional communication (CN) on its intention to negotiate a Millennium Pact with the Sri Lankan government. MCC Board again chooses Sri Lanka to develop a pact. The pact will consist of two projects: a transport project and a land project. The transport project aims to increase the relative efficiency and capacity of the road network and bus system in the Colombo metropolitan area and reduce the costs of transporting people and goods between the central region of the country and the ports and markets of the rest of the country. The aim of the terrestrial project is to expand and enhance existing Sri Lankan government initiatives to increase the availability of geographic and terrestrial information. This project will help the government identify exploited state land that can be used more productively and maximize rents for land leased by the government.
It would also increase security of ownership and land negotiability for smallholder farmers, women and businesses by digitizing document records, so they are less susceptible to damage, theft and loss….