Millennium Challenge Corp. announces Rs.1.1bn initial grant to SL

US government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Regional Deputy Vice President U.S. Fatema Z. Sumar signing the grant with Secretary to the Ministry of Finance and Mass Media, Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga

A  Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) delegation led by Fatema Z. Sumar, Regional Deputy Vice President for Europe, Asia, the Pacific, and Latin America, is currently in Colombo to advance progress on the development of a five-year grant programme with Sri Lanka to reduce poverty and promote economic opportunity for Sri Lankans. 

“We are pleased to announce Rs.1.1 billion (US $7.4 million) in funding that the Millennium Challenge Corporation is providing now to support the development of a compact, including identifying and analyzing specific projects for potential investment,” Sumar said.

Because the grant programme is still in development, the total funding amount has not yet been determined. The US $7.4 million in funding is in addition to the total MCC compact funding amount.
Based on an analysis of the constraints to economic growth, MCC and the Sri Lankan government are now conducting due diligence on potential projects in the transport and land sectors.

The Sri Lankan Government has established a project management unit—the Sri Lankan Compact Development Team—within the Prime Minister’s office to work with MCC on the compact. 

The goal is to develop a high-quality, evidence-based and sustainable compact aimed at addressing these economic challenges in a way that drives growth and reduces poverty. MCC holds partner countries accountable through rigorous oversight, monitoring and evaluation.

Sri Lanka’s compact development team is consulting with a wide group of stakeholders to collect input – including potential beneficiaries, civil society, the private sector, other donors, and relevant government entities.

In December 2016, MCC’s board of directors selected Sri Lanka to develop a compact. Sri Lanka became eligible for assistance after passing 13 out of 20 indicators on MCC’s policy scorecard. 
The country will need to be re-selected by MCC’s board in December for compact development to continue.