Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2017-07-11

The study on supply of potable water to the population in Jaffna Peninsula through the development of water resources in the Vadamarachchi Lagoon

- Although, the National Water Supply and the Drainage Board has implemented 16 various water supply projects in the Jaffna Peninsula, it has been able to provide pipe borne water facilities only to a fraction of 9% out of a total population of 600,000 living in the area. The scarcity of potable water resources is the major obstacle for the implementation of drinking water projects in Jaffna. As a remedial measure, it has already been decided to establish a Desalination Water Plant to purify sea water and provide drinking water.

In addition, it has been proposed to store the rain water from the rains that occur from the period of October to December of the year in an area of 10 km of the Vadamarachchi lagoon and to implement a potable water supply project out of the water so collected. Accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. Ranil Wickremasinghe, the Prime Minister in his capacity as the Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs to make a comprehensive feasibility study on this, taking into consideration the data and information collected pertaining to the research already carried out in this regard, with the collaboration of the related Government institutions as well as the Northern Provincial Council, was approved by the Cabinet.