Under the country operations business plan (COBP), 2016-2018, ADB operations will strengthen its support for human capital development to help Sri Lanka become a competitive economy. Lending for education will be more than tripled to $1 billion for the next 5 years in line with the government priority for human capital development to ensure equity of the social market economy vision, and the plan to gradually increase education expenditure to 6% of gross domestic product. Some hard infrastructure projects focus on the final stage of ongoing development, such as for rural road connectivity and rural electrification. The Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME) Credit Facility is programmed to support the government’s emphasis on inclusive growth. Accordingly, the following new proposed projects are included into the lending pipeline for 2016-2018:

• Rural Electrification Project: $70 million in 2016;
• SME Credit Line: $100 million in 2016;
• Local Government Enhancement Sector Project (additional financing): $40 million in 2016;
• Science and Technology Human Resource Development Program: $100 million in 2017;
• Colombo Suburban Railway Electrification Project: $300 million in 2018;
• Second Education Sector Development Program: $200 million in 2018; and
• Wind Power Generation Project: $200 million in 2018