Estimated to cost over $US100 million, the Greater Colombo Wastewater Management project will span over five years and will extensively rehabilitate the region’s current sanitation services by relining and repairing existing pipelines and implementing sustainable asset management processes.

It is hoped that the project will improve living standards for Sri Lanka’s growing urban population by upgrading current sanitation infrastructure and services, which are currently incapable of meeting urban demands. Successful completion of the project is expected to improve living standards and public health for 1.5 million residents living in the Greater Colombo region.

Project Specifications

Whilst funding has been approved, no contractors have been appointed for the sewer rehabilitation project. The Sri Lankan Government will soon be inviting tenders for the project.

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The project will be undertaken via a combination of trenchless and open-cut methods. However, in order to minimise disruption and involuntary resettlement Trenchless Technology will be preferred as applicable.

The rehabilitation of gravity sewers, totalling 2.61 kilometres will be relined using Trenchless Technology so as not to have any resettlement impacts. It is as yet undecided as to whether the remaining 8.99 kilometres will use Trenchless Technology or open cut methods, and will depend on a conditions survey that will be undertaken prior to the commencement of the project.

Necessity of Sanitation Rehabilitation

Thanks to prolonged conflict and low productivity in rural areas, Sri Lanka has sustained a recent trend of increased urbanisation which has highlighted the limitations of Sri Lanka’s urban infrastructure and services and the pressing need to rehabilitate its water supply and sanitation.

In its commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Government of Sri Lanka identified access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation as priority objectives. Such objectives include increasing the sustainable access to safe drinking water and increasing the proportion of the population with improved sanitation by 2015.

However, the current condition of water supply and sanitation services is still a concern in Sri Lanka: the coverage of piped water remains at 30 per cent; only 60 per cent of the urban population is connected to piped water; and the supply of water is intermittent, running for approximately 16 hours a day. Moreover, the vast majority of urban residents rely on septic tanks or have no private sanitation facilities.

The current sewerage system in Sri Lanka comprises of approximately 320 kilometres of sewers. Although it was substantially rebuilt and expanded in the 1980s, the sewer pipes now frequently suffer from blockages and collapses and are in urgent need of repair.

Whilst the project will upgrade and rehabilitate the sewerage infrastructure in the Greater Colombo region, the project will also focus on instituting comprehensive asset management procedures, including financial management, environmental compliance, customer services and public awareness, and pro-poor and gender-inclusive sanitation services.

Costs and duration

The project is estimated to cost $US116.6 million, $US81 million of which will be spent directly on sewer rehabilitation. The Sri Lankan Government has been approved for loans amounting to approximately $US100 million from the Asian Development Bank’s ordinary capital resources, as well as the Asian Development Fund. The Sri Lankan Government will finance the remaining $US16.6 million.

The project will be implemented over a five year period. The project is due to commence in the first quarter of 2010 and end in December 2014.