Chinese-funded housing units to be built for Sri Lankan low-income families

COLOMBO, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- A supplementary agreement for the China-aided housing project for low-income families in Sri Lanka was signed here on Friday, with officials from Sri Lanka's Ministry of Urban Development, Construction and Housing and Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong attending the event.

Anura Karunathilake, minister of urban development, construction and housing, said that over the past decades, whenever Sri Lanka faced difficulties, the Chinese government and people have always extended a helping hand without hesitation. He expressed gratitude for the selfless assistance from the Chinese government and people, emphasizing that the agreement signed on Friday is of utmost importance to the Sri Lankan people.

Tang Yandi, counselor of the Chinese embassy in Sri Lanka, said the project aims to provide high-quality residential buildings in designated areas of Colombo for low-income households.

"The successful signing of the supplementary agreement will be a token of our further strengthened friendship," Tang said, expressing his confidence that the project will be another success with close cooperation between the two sides.

The implementation agreement for the housing project was signed in November 2023, and the supplementary agreement details specific bidding and division of work for the project.

According to the agreement, the construction works for 1,996 housing units for low-income families in Sri Lanka will commence soon.

Data from the Ministry of Urban Development, Construction and Housing showed that more than 700,000 families in Sri Lanka lived without permanent housing as of November 2023.