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North Central Province Canal Project: Clogged by contractor issues 

07 Aug 2021

  • Tenders called once again for construction of Section I  
  • Local private contractor removed after being blacklisted  
  • Entire project scheduled for completion in 2024  
By Maheesha Mudugamuwa   Tenders have once again been called for the construction of Section I of the North Central Province Canal Project (NCPCP) that had come to a standstill after removing the initial local private contractor who had been recently blacklisted due to alleged financial irregularities, The Sunday Morning learnt.  It is learnt that even though the local contractor was awarded the construction contract for the 3 km-long Section I in 2018, to be completed within two years at a cost of Rs. 3,743 million, the contractor had only completed a total of 1.8 km of the section within the given time period at a cost of around Rs. 2,000 million.  The NCPCP is funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the estimated total cost of the project is Rs. 65,000 million.   According to the External Resources Department (ERD) of the Ministry of Finance, the ADB has offered a total of $ 432 million for three investment projects. These include: 1) the North Central Province Canal Project, which is a construction of 90 km for the Kalu Ganga-Moragahakanda Transfer Canal to transfer water between the Kalu Ganga Reservoir and the Moragahakanda Reservoirs, and the construction of the Upper Elehera Canal that connects the Moragahakanda Reservoir to the Huruluwewa, Manakattiya, Eruwewa, and Mahakanadarawa Reservoirs; 2) the North Western Province Canal Project (NWPCP), a construction of 96 km of new and upgraded canals, including a new 940 m tunnel and two new 25 m tall dams to be constructed in order to transfer water from the Dambulu Oya and existing Nalanda and Wemedilla Reservoirs to the existing irrigation and water supply reservoirs in the North Western Province; and 3) the Minipe Left Bank Canal Rehabilitation Project (MLBCRP), which involves raising the headworks weir, the construction of a new automatic downstream control system and intake gates to the left bank canal, construction of new emergency spill weirs to both the left and right bank canals, and the rehabilitation of 74 km of the left bank canal, including regulator and spill structures. According to the Mahaweli Water Security Investment Programme (MWSIP), the NCPCP comprises two components.   The first component is the construction of the Kalu Ganga-Moragahakanda Transfer Canal (including two tunnels) that will transfer water between the Kalu Ganga and Moragahakanda reservoirs.   The second component is the construction of the Upper Elahera Canal that connects the Moragahakanda reservoir to the existing reservoirs Huruluwewa, Manankattiya, Eruwewa, and Mahakanadarawa (including in total 28 km of tunnels). These reservoirs feed existing irrigation and water supply schemes in the North Central Province.   Addressing irregularities However, irregularities have been reported recently with regard to the construction of the NCPCP, as it was alleged that the project had come to a standstill and the iron rods and parts of the project had been removed from the construction site.   It is also alleged that the site had now been abandoned, which raises concerns as to whether the entire project had been abandoned.   To clear the doubts, The Sunday Morning spoke to NCPC Project Director D.M. Wijeratne, who went on to explain that the recent issue had arisen only with the 3 km Section I of the NCPCP, and it had now been rectified, as tenders have been called to award the remaining stretch to an eligible contractor.  “This has nothing to do with the Moragahakanda Reservoir Project. We have already completed the reservoir and now we are constructing a 96 km-long canal to divert water from Moragahakanda to Anuradhapura. This is what we call the NCPCP. We awarded the construction of a 30 km tunnel at the beginning of this year and the awarding of the contracts of the remaining 60 km would be completed by the end of this year. The cost of the tunnel, funded by the Government of Sri Lanka and the ADB, is $ 244 million,” he explained.   It is said that the project had been designed as an eco-friendly development programme and the excess water from the Moragahakanda and Kalu Ganga Reservoirs would be carried to Yakalla along a 65 km-long canal.   It is also noted that the canal will have to pass through three sanctuaries and therefore, an irrigation tunnel is being constructed in order to prevent damage to the environment and wildlife.   The tunnel, which starts from Elahera Konduruwewa, ends at Palugaswewa Mahamigaswewa.  Accordingly, the main objective of the NCPCP is to divert water from the Moragahakanda and Kalu Ganga Reservoirs to the North Central Province.    Benefits to farmers The lack of safe drinking water has been a major reason for poverty and kidney disease of the people living in the North Central, Northern, and Eastern Provinces.   After the completion of the project, 25,000 families in 13 divisional secretariat divisions in the North Central Province will benefit. It is expected that 43,000 hectares would be cultivated during the Yala and Maha seasons by supplying water to 1,200 small tanks.  Upon completion of the first stage of the construction activities of the Moragahakanda-Kalu Ganga Development Project, it was able to provide irrigation water facilities to 82,000 ha of land that is used for both, the Yala and Maha seasons; and domestic and industrial water to the Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Trincomalee, and Matale Districts; and about 5,000 ha of new lands for agriculture will be opened up and developed under the project.  Under the second stage of the project, the NCPC will be constructed, which would irrigate 135,189 ha of new and prevailing agricultural lands for both seasons, in eight river basins in the North and North Central Provinces and eight new tanks will be constructed in the eight river basins in the area.  According to Wijeratne, the entire project is scheduled to be completed by 2024.  Elaborating further on the delays faced by the project, Wijeratne said: “We had an issue with the 3 km section from Moragahakanda which we awarded in 2018. The contractor could not finish the construction within the stipulated time. Also, the company got blacklisted and faced major financial issues and therefore, we have to remove the company and start the tendering process once again to handover the construction to an eligible company."  Responding to the allegations, the Project Director of the NCPC said the company was instructed to remove abandoned construction items from the site so as to make the site easily accessible for the new contractor.  “When winding up the contract, we asked them to remove the items that they have brought to the site and abandoned.” When asked whether the authority had sold the iron rods of the construction site, the Project Director noted that the private company had sold the iron rods that they had abandoned, and they might have paid the salaries of the employees who worked for that company while the authority had nothing to with it.   “When a new contractor comes, they are not going to use these items, so it’s useless to abandon those at the site and let them decay,” he stressed.   A part of the multipurpose project was completed, as the Moragahakanda reservoir was commissioned in January 2018 to provide water for drinking and agricultural purposes in Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, and Trincomalee Districts throughout the year.  According to the project plan, once the Kalu Ganga Reservoir project is completed, it will link the Moragahakanda Reservoir via a tunnel and after the completion of the entire project, i.e. the NCPCP, NWPCP, and MLBCRP, the water scarcity in North Central, Eastern, and North Western Provinces will be solved to a great extent.  However, when Irrigation Ministry Secretary Anura Dissanayake was questioned about the status of the project as well as the allegations, he stated that he was not aware of any such issues.   In the meantime, the Mahaweli Authority diverted the questions to the Project Director of the NCPCP.


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