COLOMBO — Sri Lanka has begun implementation of a major Indian grant-funded healthcare project in Mullaitivu, where a new four-story medical ward complex will be built at the District General Hospital under a 600 million Sri Lankan rupee assistance package from the Government of India.
The project follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha and Sri Lanka’s Acting Health Secretary Dr. W.K. Wickremasinghe during Indian Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan’s visit to Sri Lanka in April.
The planned facility is expected to substantially strengthen healthcare capacity in one of Sri Lanka’s war-affected northern districts, where access to advanced medical infrastructure has remained limited.
According to project details, the medical ward complex will include modern facilities such as elevators, air-conditioning systems, backup power generators, uninterruptible power supply systems, fire protection infrastructure, and piped medical gas systems.
Sri Lankan health authorities expect the new facility to play a critical role in addressing the district’s growing burden of non-communicable diseases by expanding screening for residents over the age of 35, reducing the need for referrals to distant hospitals, and significantly improving local treatment capacity.
Officials estimate that, once completed, the hospital’s bed capacity could increase by more than 150 percent.
The project falls under the Indo-Sri Lankan High Impact Community Development Project framework, through which India is currently supporting 18 grant-funded initiatives across 25 districts in Sri Lanka.
Those projects span sectors including healthcare, housing, education, fisheries, renewable energy, transport, and agriculture, reflecting New Delhi’s broader strategy of strengthening grassroots development partnerships across Srilanka.
