by Dasun Edirisinghe
Irrigation and Water Resource Management Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said that the country’s 4th largest reservoir which was being constructed at Moragahakanda should be completed before the next general election in 2016.
Participating in an inspection tour of the Moragahakanda and Kaluganga reservoirs coming under the same project, the minister said that it was started in 2007 and so far utilising local funds and local engineers, but now Kuwait and Saudi Arabian Fund had agreed to financially assist the project.
"The future construction of the Moragahakanda reservoir will be handed over to a Chinese Company," De Silva said adding that the tenders had now been called for the construction of the Kaluganga reservoir.
The construction of the main dam of the Moragahakanda would be started in May after resettling area families in a newly designed town called New Laggala.
Resident Engineer of the Moragahakanda and Kaluganga Project E. K. D. Tennakoon said that as the first step 223 families would be resettled.
The government would provide half an acre of high land with one and half acre paddy land for each family.
Tennakoon said that 1520 families would be displaced due to the project and the Laggala Pallegama town in the Matale District completely inundated.
"The project includes a rock filled main dam and two saddle dams," he said adding that construction of one saddle dam was already completed.
According to Tennakoon the main objectives of the project were to provide irrigation water to 81,422 hectares in the dry zone of the country, domestic and industrial water supply to Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Trincomalee and Matale Districts and generation of electricity.
Secretary to the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resource Management Ivan de Silva said that 10% of the project had already been completed and the rest would be completed in next 5-6 years.
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=45673
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