By Yohan Perera   
The billion rupee project to clean up Beira Lake was deliberately delayed by public officers attached to few state institutions, Senior Presidential Advisor Ashu Marasinghe 
said yesterday.   
Professor Marasinghe said public officers attached to few institutions such as the Central Environment Authority and Colombo Municipal Council took a long time to grant the final approval for the project. “We wonder as to why the approval was delayed for such a good project,” he said.   
“Public officers make the most damage to the nation and not the political leaders though the politicians are often blamed for delaying of development projects,” he added   
He assured that the project will get underway within three months.   

The project to clean up Beira Lake is partnered by a Japanese company Grepo Pvt Ltd   
The company is to use ‘Nanobubble Technology’ to clean up Beira Lake. “The bacteria that is located at the bottom of the lake, once activated, will in turn take away carbon dioxide and methane gases, which will clean up the water. “Bacteria in the lake will be activated by releasing oxygen to the lake from special machines that will be located around Beria Lake. It will take six months to complete the pilot project and five years for the whole project, but the Japanese company is willing to stay on in Sri Lanka to carry out various operations for 20 years.