Safeguard Policy Statement & Strategy 2020 Midterm Review
Sri Lanka:
Secured Access to Water Resources
Mahaweli Water Security Investment Program
Development
impact:
Sector:
Drivers of
Change:
Project Term:
Improved agricultural production
and sustained economic growth
Agricultural, natural resources and
rural development
Governance and capacity
development
Knowledge solutions
Partnerships
2015-2024
ADB Financing:
$453 million
PROJECT SUMMARY:
The Mahaweli Water Security Investment Program will assist the
Government of Sri Lanka complete outstanding water conveyance
investments under the Mahaweli Development Program.
Completion of the program is a key priority of the government and
will maximize the productivity of Mahaweli River Basin water
resources by transferring available water to the northern dry zone
areas of Sri Lanka for irrigation, drinking, and commercial
purposes. This will accelerate local and national economic growth.
Sri Lanka has abundant water resources but with uneven water
distribution. Local communities have addressed the water stress
by constructing many small cascade systems of reservoirs,
transfer canals, and irrigation schemes, but these merely provide
supplementary irrigation to single paddy crop each year. The
storage is not even sufficient for drinking water supply.
The outputs of the program will be (i) new and improved water
conveyance and storage infrastructure constructed, (ii) systems for
improving water resource management and developed
productivity, and (iii) operational multidisciplinary investment
program management.
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