The foundation laying ceremony of Polonnaruwa Agricultural Economic Center in Sri Lanka was held on Sept 7,2017.

Maithripala Sirisena, president of Sri Lanka, said the country is grateful to China for its support for the development of Polonnaruwa. It is believed that with the construction of the agricultural economic center, the economic outlook of the area will be greatly improved.

Yi Xianliang, Chinese ambassador to Sri Lanka, said that this year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Sri Lanka.

In the future, cooperation projects between China and Sri Lanka will involve not only large-scale infrastructure construction, but also more small-scale industrial and agricultural projects related to people's livelihoods, he added.

POWERCHINA's Sinohydro Corporation and Department of Agriculture signed a contract for Polonnaruwa Agricultural Economic Center project in November 2016.

According to the contract, in addition to the agricultural economic center, China will also build facilities for a cattle farm, barn, market, rice processing plant and animal husbandry training school in the Polonnaruwa area.