Boat and Leisure Services at Major Sri Lankan Reservoirs Attract 30 Proposals

01st December 2010, www.lankabusinessonline.com

Thirty parties have responded to a call for proposals to operate boat and leisure services at major reservoirs in Sri Lanka, irrigation minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said. An official said all the proposals appeared to be from local parties.

The government asked for proposals from private parties to operate boat services and restaurants at irrigation works connected to Sri Lanka's Mahaweli river development project.

The operators would be subjected to 30 conditions including environmental regulations and boats have to be powered by engines smaller than 15 horsepower.

Proposals were called to operate boat services and restaurants at newly built Kotmale, Polgolla, Victoria, Randenigala, Ulhitiya, Maduru Oya, Bowatenne and the Udawalawe reservoirs.

In addition Kandalama, Kala, Chandrika, and Iranmadu reservoirs which are so-called 'tanks' dating back from Sri Lanka's ancient irrigation related settlements were also opened for leisure activities.

Kandalama already has an up-market hotel operated by Sri Lanka's Aitken Spence group.

Several of reservoirs which are also used for power generation are located in picturesque hilly areas and were under tight security, with restricted public access, during a 30-year separatist war which ended last May.

The Iranamadu tank shot fame in the last stages of the war as being the place where expat Tamil Tiger separatists landed by seaplane after arriving from the Maldives.

Once the proposals are accepted the government was planning to kick off the services in January starting with the Victoria and Polgolla reservoirs in the Kandy district, an official said.

Iranamadu Reservoir Project to Solve Water Problem of Sri Lanka's North

10th November 2010, www.dailynews.lk

Discussions are underway with the Asian Development Bank to commence the proposed Iranamadu Reservoir Project at a cost of Rs 220 billion, Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Minister Douglas Devananda said.

"With the completion of this project in three years, the water problem in the North both for drinking and cultivation would cease to exist," he said.

Devananda was speaking at a ceremony in Jaffna to mark the commencement of Jaffna Kilinochchi Water Supply and Sanitation Project by the National Water Supply and Drainage Board and the opening of Jaffna District Water Supply and Drainage Board recently.

Water Supply and Drainage Minister Dinesh Gunawardene who visited Jaffna, opened the Project Office with Minister Devananda. Minister Devananda said that because President Mahinda Rajapaksa's promise and effort, 643,459 in the North who suffered immensely due to the water shortage would greatly benefit. Minister Gunawardene said the water problem of the people of the North would be a thing of the past in three years after completion of the Iranamadu Reservoir Project.

The Minister also emphasized the importance of rain water harvesting through which a large quantity of water could be saved and utilized for various purposes. A special program in this regard would be launched in Jaffna in the future, he added. Rs 315 million has been set aside for projects intended to solve the water problem of the people of the North. "The National Water Supply and Drainage Board should work in close relationship with the local bodies," he said.

Minister Gunawardene also visited Nagadeepa with Minister Devananda and after having worshipped the Shrine, had talks with Nagadeepa Buddhist Shrine Chief incumbent Ven Kadawedduwe Nandarama Thera and promised to solve the water problem of the devotees within two weeks.

The Kaithady water project that had been completed with Rs 2 million was opened by the two Ministers.