No signs of China Exim Bank loan for Central Expressway despite talks View(s):By Namini WijedasaA loan sought by the Sri Lankan government from the Exim Bank of China as part-funding for Stage 1 of the Central Expressway Project (CEP 1) has still not come through despite protracted negotiations, official sources said. The Sri Lanka Government and the EXIM Bank of China first entered into a preferential buyer’s credit agreement to finance CEP 1 as early as March 2019. The change in loan currency from US dollars to RMB was at the request of China Exim. The original EXIM Bank concessional loan was US$989 mn, of which just US$51.5 mn was disbursed before its suspension. While the remainder is US$938 mn, EXIM, post-debt restructuring, has now only committed to lending US$500 mn in RMB.

Source: Sunday Times January 04, 2026 07:01 UTC