Foundation stones laid for Indian grant assistance projects
On Sept. 16, the President of Sri Lanka, H.E. Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, H.E. Santosh Jha, and the Minister of Health and Mass Media, Hon. Nalinda Jayatissa, jointly laid the foundation stones for an Accident and Emergency Unit at the District General Hospital in Mannar and a four-story Medical Ward Complex at the District General Hospital in Mullaitivu.
Dignitaries in attendance included Hon. Nagalingam Vethanayahan, Governor of the Northern Province; Members of Parliament; the Secretary and officials from the Ministry of Health; and the Chief Secretary and officials from the Provincial administration.
Both projects are funded through grant assistance from the Government of India, with each costing SLR 600 million, for a total of LKR 1.2 billion.
The Mannar project involves constructing a two-story Accident and Emergency unit and providing essential medical equipment to deliver timely emergency care and help save lives during the critical golden hour.
The project’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in September 2025.
The four-story medical ward complex in Mullaitivu will include construction and installation of all required fittings and fixtures.
This complex will enhance patient screening, reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases, and decrease referrals to other hospitals.
The MoU for this project was signed in April 2026, coinciding with the visit of India’s Vice President, H.E. C.P. Radhakrishnan, to Sri Lanka.
These projects further strengthen India’s ongoing development cooperation with Sri Lanka in the health sector.
Notable examples include the island-wide 1990 Suwa Seriya ambulance service, medical assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic, construction of a 150-bed multi-specialty hospital at Dickoya, upgrades to Jaffna Teaching Hospital and District Hospitals in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu, and construction of a surgical unit at Teaching Hospital, Batticaloa.
India’s development cooperation with Sri Lanka exceeds $7.5 billion, including approximately $880 million in grant assistance, benefiting all 25 districts.