10,000 more houses to be constructed under Phase-IV of Indian Housing Project in Sri Lanka
The recent signing of two agreements to construct 10,000 houses in Sri Lanka's plantation areas is set to provide momentum to the fourth phase of the Indian Housing Project in the island nation. The project is a major initiative underscoring India's commitment to development cooperation with its neighbour.
 
Phase-IV, spanning 11 districts and 6 provinces, is part of India's wider pledge to construct 60,000 houses in Sri Lanka. The Indian Housing Project is a major symbol of India’s rehabilitation support to Sri Lanka following damage and destruction during decades of conflict in the country’s Northern and Eastern Provinces.
 
With 46,000 homes already completed in the Northern and Eastern Provinces and the third phase (4,000 houses) nearing completion, the Indian Housing Project has become a cornerstone of its bilateral partnership with Sri Lanka.
 
The High Commission of India in Sri Lanka signed two substantial agreements with the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) and the State Engineering Corporation (SEC) of Sri Lanka on November 28, 2023. Counsellor and Head of Development Cooperation Wing, Eldos Mathew Punnoose, Chairman of SEC, Rathnasiri Kalupahana, and General Manager, NHDA, Kankanamalage Ajantha Janaka were the signatories to the two agreements.
 
The separate agreements with NHDA and SEC are strategically aimed at ensuring the early rollout of the construction process for these houses.
 
WHAT IS THE INDIAN HOUSING PROJECT IN SRI LANKA?
In June 2010, the Indian government announced that it would construct 50,000 houses in Sri Lanka at an outlay of 33 billion LKR in three phases. The project was geared to meet the urgent housing requirements in the plantation areas, following long years of conflict in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.
 
Close to 46,000 houses were built in different parts of Sri Lanka under the first two phases of the Indian Housing Project (IHP). The Third Phase, which is currently underway, involves the construction of 4,000 more houses. The Fourth Phase for the construction of 10,000 houses in plantation areas is set to commence with the recent signing of the two agreements.
 
The Pilot Project (First Phase) to construct 1,000 houses for beneficiaries in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province was launched in November 2010; it was completed in July 2012. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed with the Government of Sri Lanka on the modalities of implementation of the remaining 49,000 houses under the project.
 
The Second Phase, launched on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on October 2, 2012, envisaged construction of 45,000 houses in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. This was completed in December 2018.
 
The Third Phase of the Indian Housing Project involves construction of 4,000 houses for estate workers in the Central and Uva Provinces through an innovative community-driven approach. A Letter of Exchange with the Government of Sri Lanka for this phase was signed in April 2016 and work began in October 2016.
 
In the Third Phase, considering the difficulties in the terrain and accessibility of materials and other logistics, LKR 950,000 is being disbursed per beneficiary. This phase is now nearing completion.
 
During his May 2017 visit to Sri Lanka, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an additional 10,000 houses for the estate workers. The agreement formalized in August 2018 as part of IHP’s Fourth Phase entailed an additional commitment of LKR 11 billion.