A third of Sri Lanka’s population lives in the dry zone region including North Central Province, Central Province, North Western Province and Eastern Province. 70% of rural dwellers rely on agriculture for their livelihood.
ADB said the assistance will help the government to complete the rollout of water delivery and storage infrastructure, which was started in the 1970s.
The loan will finance over 260km of new and upgraded canals, reservoirs, and other irrigation infrastructure by 2024.
The government will also utilize to undertake studies on enhancing water management and delivery systems. It will deliver clean drinking water to over 350,000 people.
ADB water resources specialist Lance Gore said: "Sri Lanka has abundant water resources but they are not distributed evenly across the country.
"This assistance will allow the government to complete a decades-old program to transfer water from the country’s largest river to the dry zone, giving a real boost to growth, food security, and poverty reduction."
The bank’s loan assistance includes $262m from its ordinary capital resources and $191m from concessional Asian Development Fund. Development partners will cofinance $114m, with the government providing $108m.
The investment program will be undertaken in three tranches, with the first scheduled to begin next month.
Image: A farmer near Vavunikulam whose crops have benefited from an ADB-assisted infrastructure project in former conflict-affected areas. Photo: courtesy of Asian Development Bank.
