Colombo, Apr 1 (PTI) Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Tuesday said the economic recovery under his government led to the resumption of many foreign-funded projects in the island nation.

"All our foreign-funded projects came to be halted due to the economic crisis. We got loans to do the airport, but they stopped the project and left because we were unable to pay back the loans. Same with the highway, we were given a loan and it was stopped halfway as we could not pay back," said Dissanayake while addressing a rally at Buttala, the rural southeastern region, in the run-up to the May 6 local council polls.

Dissanayake was referring to the Colombo International Airport expansion project of the Japanese and the central highway project partly funded by the Chinese.

“Eleven Japanese projects were halted. During my visit to China, we agreed to see the resumption of some 76 projects," Dissanayake said.

“This is the economic stability we have achieved since we formed our cabinet in November. It has been only a short time," Dissanayake stressed.

“The US dollar hovering near 400 rupees as par value is now only around 300 rupees. This is the stability we have achieved." Having won the presidential and parliamentary elections last year, Dissanayake’s National People's Power (NPP) is contesting 340 local councils on May 6.

Dissanayake’s government has carried forward the economic reforms programme launched by his predecessor Ranil Wickremesinghe for the International Monetary Fund bail-out despite his pre-election rhetoric that he would renegotiate the IMF's stringent reforms led recovery path. PTI CORR PY PY PY

Economic recovery enables resumption of foreign funded infrastructure projects and continued implementation of IMF backed reforms by government. Economic recovery under the administration is said to have enabled resumption of foreign funded infrastructure projects that were halted during the economic crisis, citing the Colombo International Airport expansion and a central highway as examples; bilateral arrangements with Japan and China reportedly facilitate restart of multiple projects. The government points to exchange rate stabilization and its continuation of the predecessor's IMF linked economic reform programme as factors restoring confidence and unlocking foreign financing.