Construction of the main tunnel of the Uma Oya Project inaugurated by the President

Construction of the main tunnel of the Uma Oya multi-purpose reservoir project started this morning under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The project will benefit the farmers in Moneragala, Badulla and Ampara districts, and will provide irrigation facilities as well as generate electricity.

This multi-purpose project will include construction of two rolling compact concrete dams, an underground hydro power plant with 134 MW capacity and about 25 Km underground tunnel. The main aim of this project is, conveyance of water from Uma Oya River to south eastern region of Sri Lanka and also construction of a hydro power plant.

On April 2008, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad started the construction of the project, which include the construction of two reservoirs on tributaries of the Uma Oya River and one tunnel on the river. When the project completes, it will have the capacity to irrigate 5,000 hectares of agricultural lands.

The project is estimated US$16 billion. The Government of Sri Lanka is funding the project with the assistance from Iran.

714 families including 280 houses that will come under the project will get blocks of land ranging from 10 to 40 perches, from the Uva Paranagama, Moragollawatte, Welimada and Wellawaya areas. (niz)