ADB FORKS OUT Rs. 31B SEWAGE LOAN

New sewage system for Colombo by 2017

It is planned to treat all waste water in Colombo. Discussions are underway to recover apart of the cost by imposing a small levy on major polluters of water–hotels, industries and large housing complexes, an official of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) said.

“With the ongoing development projects in the city, the existing sewage treatment plant needs to be expanded. We are planning on introducing a modern sewage system to Colombo under a multi-trans project that will take place in several stages. Construction of the first stage is ongoing,” the CMC said.

The total cost of the sewage system at 31 billion rupees is being funded by a loan obtained from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Speaking to the Daily Mirror, CMC Treasurer K.D. Chitrapala said that 82.5 per cent of the loan will be paid by the government and 17.5 per cent will be met by the CMC.

“We have been given a 25- year period to cover the loan and we have allocated 20 million rupees in annual budgets to repay the loan,” he said. Speaking about the imposition of a tax to recover part of the sewage project cost, Chitrapala said that a final decision has not been made. Only proposals had been put forward to stakeholders at a seminar held on Saturday April 26.

According to the CMC, many hotels, industries and large housing complexes in Colombo damage the waste water management system and the marine environment by releasing harmful pollutants to waterways. The project to be handled in two stages and will be completed by 2017.