Rs 220 billion plan to link Rameswaram to Sri Lanka; Gadkari

The Indian government is working towards a Rs 220 billion (Indian rupees) project to provide connectivity between India and Sri Lanka for which the Asian Development Bank has expressed willingness to provide funding, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has said. The Indian government has been trying to improve connectivity with neighbouring nations on high priority basis, he added. After signing pacts with Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal for seamless flow of traffic, another project for providing connectivity with Sri Lanka is on the anvil, he said. “ADB (Asian Development Bank) is ready to finance a Rs 22,000 crore project for providing connectivity to neighbouring Sri Lanka. I had a discussion with the Vice President of ADB and they are ready to finance,” Gadkari said. He said there is a missing link of narrow corridor of about 22 km in connectivity to Sri Lanka from Rameshwaram which is presently being serviced through makeshift ferry service arrangements. “We are working on the project and as soon as it is completed, Trans Asia Road and transport network could be extended to Sri Lanka,” Gadkari said. The proposed project will be a combination of bridge and underwater tunnel which will allow unhindered movement of ships through it, he said. India would soon enter into another landmark motor pact with Myanmar and Thailand by year-end, on the lines of the BBIN signed with three other SAARC nations, he added. (PTI)