The commercial agreement for the construction of Railway Line in the war ravaged Northern Sri Lanka was signed on Monday at Colombo in the presence of the Minister of Transport, Mr Dullas Alahapperuma and the High Commissioner of India, Mr Ashok K Kantha. The railway line is to be built between Omanthai and Pallai in the North Emphasizing the importance of the restoration of normal economic life in the Northern Province , Indian High Commissioner Ashok Kantha noted that the reconstruction of transport-related infrastructure was an essential requirement in the region as it would both generate and support livelihood-related activities. He said India remains committed to continuing its assistance to Sri Lanka as it undertakes the important and challenging task of reconstructing the Northern Province.<br/><br/><br/>The Agreement was signed by Mr S L Gupta on behalf of IRCON International (a Government of India Undertaking which will construct the railway line) and by Mr P P Wijesekara on behalf of the Sri Lanka Railways. The agreement is backed by a Government of India line of credit for USD 185 million. It is part of a larger package of assistance directed at the rehabilitation of railway infrastructure in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka, for which Government of India has committed a total amount of USD 425 million in lines of credit.<br/>The agreement signed on Monday follows similar agreements that have been signed earlier for the rehabilitation of the Southern Railway corridor, which had been extensively damaged in the 2004 tsunami. Under that agreement, India is assisting in the rehabilitation of the Colombo-Matara rail link through a line of credit of USD 167.4 million. Work on the Colombo-Kalutara sector of this line is already at an advanced stage.