New wastewater management system constructed in Kandy with JICA assistance launched

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa ceremonially opened the Kandy New Wastewater Management System yesterday in the presence of Mizukoshi Hideaki, Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka, Minister Water Supply Vasudeva Nanayakkara, State Minister of Rural and Divisional Drinking Water Supply Projects Development Sanath Nisantha, Members of Parliament Wasantha Yapa Bandara, Governor Central Province Lalith Gamage, Secretary to Ministry Priyath Bandu Wickrama, Chairman NWSDB Nishantha Ranathunga, General Manager NWSDB Thilina Wijethuna, Director General South Asia Department of JICA Sakamoto Takema, and Chief Representative JICA Sri Lanka Yamada Tetsuya.  

The old capital of Sri Lanka receives tourists from all over the world. As a World Heritage site and the second largest city of Sri Lanka, Kandy is famous for its beauty. 

Behind the city’s beauty, hidden are polluted canals and rivers, as Kandy city didn’t have a modern sewerage system except the onsite sanitation solutions. The rate of deteriorating quality of water in rivers and the lake has increased with the increase of population, their activities, and their use of water. 

The project will benefit over 300,000 people, which include both residents in Kandy and daily migrants. Therefore, Wastewater Management System was a long-pending requirement, and with the JICA assistance, it became real. 
The proposed Wastewater Management system aims to tackle these issues altogether. 

As a sewerage treatment plant is installed, it is expected to improve the water quality of the Mahaweli river, one of the major water sources in the country. Improvement of its water quality in the upper stream will have a positive impact on downstream areas. 

The project was implemented by the National Water Supply and Drainage Board with concessional financing assistance from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The technology installed in the project is remarkable. The plant with a capacity of 14,000m3/day utilizes the “Propeller-type Oxidation Ditch (O.D.) System,” which enables the efficient treatment of sewage through the high mixture with oxygen promoted by submersible propellers and air diffusers in the Aeration Tank. 

Japanese company, JFE Engineering Corporation constructed the plant with this superior technology to help reducing plant operation costs, which will eventually be borne by the public.

The project will also provide improved sanitation in densely populated and low-income areas in Kandy by installing an in-house sanitation facility and refurbishing public facilities. The introduction of improved sanitation facilities will improve the community’s sanitary environment and improve the residents’ health conditions. 

JICA assisted in preparing a strategic master plan for the sewerage sector in Sri Lanka in year 2017. JICA continuously supports the Sri Lankan government in the management of its sewerage problem systematically, said Yamada Tetsuya, Chief Representative JICA Sri Lanka in the 
opening ceremony.