U.S. EXIM Bank Chairman Visits Water Reservoir Project in Badulla

Chairman Hochberg met children of the Badulla area who will benefit from the EXIM-funded water reservoir project

Chairman Fred Hochberg of the Export-Import Bank (EXIM) of the United States visited the Badulla site of the EXIM-funded water reservoir project yesterday.  The approximately Rs. 9.4 billion ($64.9 million) project was funded in 2012 through a 12-year direct loan for this Integrated Water Supply System.

The U.S. EXIM-financed project will provide reliable water supply to the people of the Badulla area.
The U.S. EXIM-financed project will provide reliable water supply to the people of the Badulla area.
U.S. EXIM Bank Chairman Fred Hochberg (center) checks in on the site of the dam project, which passed a government environmental impact assessment before proceeding.
U.S. EXIM Bank Chairman Fred Hochberg (center) checks in on the site of the dam project, which passed a government environmental impact assessment before proceeding.
The U.S. EXIM-financed project will provide reliable water supply to the people of the Badulla area.
The U.S. EXIM-financed project will provide reliable water supply to the people of the Badulla area.

The water-supply project will integrate new and rehabilitated treatment plants, storage tanks, pumping stations, a new dam and impoundment reservoir, new and existing water intake structures, nearly 50 kilometers of transmission pipeline, and more than 100 kilometers of distribution pipeline.

The dam project passed a government environmental impact assessment to create a reliable water supply that is not dependent on current rainfall.  Expected to be completed in 2017-18, the project features the latest U.S.-manufactured water treatment technologies and employs almost exclusively local Sri Lankan staff for construction work.