The Kaluganga Water Supply Project, intended to meet the drinking water needs of around 500,000 families in the Colombo and Kalutara districts, is to be expedited so that it starts and finishes within its scheduled timeframe, the government news portal reported.
The decision followed a discussion on Monday chaired by Minister of Housing, Construction and Water Supply Dr. Susil Ranasinghe with a delegation from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which included JICA Sri Lanka Chief Coordinator Honzu Shigeo. The Ministry Secretary, the Project Director and officials of the National Water Supply and Drainage Board also took part.
The project is to be built with JICA loan assistance at an estimated total cost of Rs. 73 billion. It covers a new water treatment plant with a capacity of 140,000 cubic metres per day, water storage towers and the associated pipeline network.
Officials placed particular emphasis on finishing within the stipulated timeframe so benefits reach the public without delay, and on closer coordination among the agencies involved to limit slippage.
Scale
At Rs. 73 billion for 500,000 families, the scheme works out to roughly Rs. 146,000 per family served — and it is an order of magnitude larger than the Japanese-financed work under way in the dry zone. The Anuradhapura North programme, whose Phase II distribution contract was awarded in April at Rs. 2.66 billion, serves 164 Grama Niladhari divisions.
The project should not be confused with the Kalu Ganga Reservoir, a separate irrigation and resettlement scheme on the same river system.
Not reported
News.lk does not give a construction start date, a completion target, the loan’s terms or repayment period, the contractor or contractors appointed, or the specific divisional secretariat areas that will be connected. Nor does it say how far the project has already progressed, or what caused the delays the meeting was convened to address.
