Steps are being taken to speed up the construction of the Maha Ela project in the North Central Province (NCP) and reach the target in 2026, bringing direct and indirect benefits to over 850,000 families.
Accordingly, Irrigation, Wildlife and Forest Conservation Minister, attorney-at-law Pavithra Wanniarachchi engaged in an inspection tour of the project in the Mahameegaswewa area in the Palugaswewa Divisional Secretariat Division in Anuradhapura recently. (15).
During a discussion with the project engineers on site, she said the positive influences from the project to uplift the livelihood of the people in the North Central Province are of paramount importance. She said therefore it is the responsibility of all to complete the project rapidly and successfully. The construction of the 95.8-kilimetre-long North Central Province Canal began in 2021 intending to take the waters from the Moragahakanda Reservoir to Mahakanadarawewa. It includes a 27.7-kilometre-long tunnel between Konduruwawa and Mahameegaswewa.
Six kilometres were bored from the Mahameegaswewa end using a high-tech tunnel boring machine (TBM), and boring was started recently from the other end in Konduruwawa by using another TBM to speed up the construction. According to project director Engineer B.W.M.W. Seneviratne Banda, 465 metres have been bored from the Konduruwawa end.
The project is funded by the Asian Development Bank credit scheme and the Sri Lankan Government’s finial contribution of Rs.49.8 billion. A total of 12,500 hectares of new paddy fields will be irrigated under this project and over 850,000 families will receive direct and indirect benefits respectively. In addition, this will solve the drinking water issue in the North Central Province.
The Minister was accompanied by Ministry Secretary Saman Darshana Pandikorala, Mahaweli Water Conservation Investment Programme Project Director Engineer Nihal Siriwardena, Sri Lanka Mahaweli Authority Director General Mahendra Abeywardena and other officials.
The post NCP’s Maha Ela project to be speedily completed appeared first on DailyNews.