526241.1.high.jpg (Photo : www.static.ipaustralia.com.au)
China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC), a Chinese firm specializing in the construction of power projects, recently started its water supply project worth $230 million in Sri Lanka, the biggest in the history of the island's government, according to an official's statement on Saturday.
Basil Rajapaksa, the Economic Development Minister of Sri Lanka, laid the inaugural pipe in Mahara town, around 19.6 kilometers from Colombo, the largest city and capital of Sri Lanka.
The water project is expected to provide clean and safe drinking water for around 600,000 residents in 42 villages across the country.
The Sri Lankan government will provide around $20 million for the venture and will also collaborate with CMEC.
"We are doing this for the community. It's a very important project and we are grateful for the Chinese government for supporting us in this. This is something that has great social worth," said Rajapaksa during the inauguration ceremony.
Within the upcoming three years, CMEC will construct a water treatment plant capable of holding 54,000 cubic meters of supply a day and an 85,000-cubic-meter water intake volume each day.
The Beijing-based engineering firm agreed to begin the water project earlier than planned, according to Rajapaksa. He also praised the quickness of the firm with regard to the development of the project.
The soil investigation and topographic surveying of the treatment site was finished in June, while the clearing was done by November. CMEC is now beginning to lay water pipes spanning more than 1,000 kilometers.
Rajapaksa said that he is confident that CMEC's efforts, along with the National Water Supply and Drainage Board, will guarantee the completion of the water supply project.
CMEC already worked in Sri Lanka for almost 10 years on several projects. Its largest, preceding the latest one, is the $1.2-billion Lakvijaya coal power plant.
