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Massive water supply project awarded to China

18 May 2013 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) was awarded a US 229.5 million dollar contract for a massive water project funded by China to supply water to the Gampaha District.

It is a 100 percent Chinese funded project and it comes as a soft loan at two per cent interest to be paid for more than 22 years.

Water Supply and Drainage Ministry Secretary A.Abeygunasekara said the contract with the CMEC would be signed in the coming days.

The Ministry has identified that there is a growing water problem, especially in the quality of water in the Gampaha, Minuwangoda and Attanagalle areas. Most of the people use well water for day to day activities.

The CMEC will be responsible for all the design, sourcing, civil engineering, installation and commissioning work involved in the project. A total of 64 million US dollars will be given to the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWS & DB) for the distribution of water through by roads and alternative routes in the area. Another US 10 million dollars will be spent on the construction of a reservoir in the area.

He said that water would also be supplied from the Attanagalu Oya in the Gampaha-Kegalle border.

Based on the current schedule, the Project will last for 36 months from the date of commencement of the construction. Several purification stations will also be constructed by the Chinese company.

The Beijing-based state owned builder announced the project recently at a Hong Kong stock exchange filing.

The Ministry Secretary said the Gampaha District is below the 44 per cent national average for the use of pipe borne water recording just 30 per cent. However in areas such as Colombo and Kalutara, the percentage is over 50.

Mr. Abeygunasekara said a coastal project was carried out recently to upgrade the supply of water in Biyagama, Wattala and Kelaniya.

According to him the upgrading of sewerage systems and their construction was not part of the project. (SD)

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Massive water supply project awarded to China

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