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Sri Lanka hails $480 million dollar MCC ‘victory’

The Sri Lankan government claimed it had achieved a “great victory” in securing a $480 million dollar grant from the United States as part of Millennium Challenge Corporation Grant.

Sri Lanka’s cabinet approved the grant on Tuesday, which will allow American funding of infrastructure and traffic management projects across the island.

"This is a great victory for the government and augurs well for the future," said Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera in a statement after the grant was approved.

Implementation of the deal is set to being early next year.

The announcement comes despite reports last month that said Sri Lanka may stand to lose MCC funding. Sri Lanka’s participation in the program was put on hold last year after political turmoil has rocked the island when Mahinda Rajapaksa was appointed prime minister before stepping down from the post later.

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