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 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.
