5 February 2024 09:29 pm Views - 2053
The nation defaulted on its overseas debt in May, 2022 after a severe shortage of foreign exchange reserves triggered the worst financial crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.
Sri Lanka has since made progress on about US$11 billion of bilateral debt restructuring and hopes to have agreements in place with all key creditors, including bondholders, by May at the latest, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry told Reuters.
It will then focus on kick-starting major infrastructure projects suspended during the crisis, including a highway, an expansion of the main airport near Colombo and a US$2 billion light railway project with Japan.
“We are looking at, within the next 12 to 24 months, somewhere in the region of about US$5 billion worth of foreign currency infusion into the country in terms of projects and also from the sale of some state-owned enterprises,” Sabry said in an interview.
Sri Lanka’s private creditors account for about US$16 billion of debt, including international sovereign bonds, Sabry said.