Announcement of Sri Lanka to Use Forty-Two Million Seven Hundred Thousand Dollars Loan for Diesel Power Project on June 28, 1982

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Worid Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. *Telephone: (202) 477-1234 BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 82/131 Contact: Hugh Blackman June 28, 1982 (202) 477-3879 SRI LANKA TO USE $42.7 MILLION LOAN FOR DIESEL POWER PROJECT The World Bank has approved a loan of $42.7 million to the Ceylon Electricity Board of Sri Lanka to carry out a diesel power project. Designed to provide additional power urgently needed to meet shortages, the $54 million project will provide for the construction of a complete 80 megawatt diesel power station near the refinery at Sapugaskanda, on the outskirts of Colombo. The Ceylon Electricity Board, which is contributing $12 million for local expenditures, has obtained engineering consultant services. The diesel power generation project is the eighth power project in Sri Lanka to receive assistance from the World Bank or its affiliate for concessionary lending, the International Development Association (IDA). This assistance has resulted in establishing about 36% (203 megawatts) of the Ceylon Electricity Board's current installed capacity and the expansion and improvement of transmission and distribution systems in Sri Lanka. In addition, it has also helped develop the institutional capacity of the electricity board. A recent IDA credit, of $36 million, was primarily for the establishment of 220 kilovolt transmission lines for the first time in the country. The World Bank loan to the Ceylon Electricity Board, guaranteed by the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is for 20 years, including a grace period of two years, with interestat 11.6% per annum. The loan ,also carries an annual commitment charge of 0.75% on undisbursed' balances and includes a front-end fee of 1.5% on the amount of the loan. NOTE: Money figures are expressed in U.S. dollar equivalents.