| Development opportunities
encouraged all young people to participate actively in the project, and take advantage of what is ahead. One of the new students is Hubert Siapu and he
thanked the Tina project for allowing him to further his education. “I am very grateful to the Community Benefit Sharing Programme for giving me another chance to further my studies. After completing the course in two years, I look forward to working on the project, he said.” SINU’s Principal of Student Services Officer James Lengi added that the University is privileged to partner with the Tina River Hydropower Project and sponsor the students. SINU wanted to reach out to institutions like the Tina Hydro Project to sponsor students at the university especially during this difficult time with COVID 19, when finance is becoming a major issue for students who are required to pay fees before enrolling to attend classes.”
Lengi added, with this programme now in place, SINU looks forward to working with the project to invest in future leaders and generations for the country. “This is a very wise decision made by the Tina Hydro Project Office through the CBSP platform with the support of its other stakeholders,” he emphasised. All of the training at SINU for the participants is fully funded under component three of the Community Benefit Sharing Project.
South Asia’s longest water tunnel In an effort to effectively manage its water resources,
Sri Lanka launched the country’s largest infrastructure development initiative called the Mahaweli Water Security Investment Programme (MWSIP) in 2015. Its aim is to achieve sustainable irrigation and drinking water supplies from the Mahaweli River Basin for the dry zone regions of the north. As part of this, Tractebel is providing detailed engineering design and construction supervision of a major irrigation tunnel in a joint venture with the Geoconsult (Austria). Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa inaugurated the construction work of the 28km long tunnel in February 2021. It will be the longest water tunnel in South Asia upon completion in 2025 and will be the backbone of a 65km conveyance system to divert water from the Moragahakanda and Kalu Ganga Reservoirs to Rajarata, in the North Central Province.
China State Construction Engineering Corporation was awarded the tunnelling construction contract. Excavation will be completed over a driving length of 20.2km with a tunnel boring machine, plus a 6.4km counter-heading with the New Austrian Tunnelling Method which uses - along with the shotcrete - the strength of the surrounding rock to permanently reinforce the tunnel. Up to 900 million m3
of water will be transferred
annually from the Mahaweli River through canals, reservoirs and tunnels to the water-scarce north and north-west, where farmers have traditionally practised single-season rice cultivation. The water transfer will facilitate cultivation of a second crop. A total of 43,000 hectares are expected to be cultivated during the two growing seasons by providing irrigation to 25,000 families in the region. The project is being carried out in parallel to the government’s Irrigation Prosperity Programme to rehabilitate around 5000 minor irrigation reservoirs, most of which are to be supplied with water from the MWSIP.
Lack of safe drinking water is a major cause of poverty and kidney disease among the people living in many parts of Sri Lanka. After the completion of the project, 100,000 families in 13 divisional secretariats in the North Central Province will benefit from improved access to potable water. f
Above: Dr Beau Freeman, Tractebel Department Head of Sustainable Water and Land Resources Development
Above: Tractebel is providing the planning and supervision for the construction of the longest irrigation tunnel in south Asia. Photo: Programme Management, Design and Supervision Consultant (Ministry of Irrigation)
Left: Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa inaugurating the construction work of the 28km long irrigation tunnel. Photo: Programme Management, Design and Supervision Consultant (Ministry of Irrigation)
www.waterpowermagazine.com | October 2021 | 15
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