Representatives of Asian Development Bank Stated to the Northern Province Hon. Governor that His Excellency Anura Kumara dissanayaka has instructed them to pay high attention to the development in the North and Eastern Provinces, and their projects will be implemented according to their plans.
High-level officers who visited Jaffna, such as Manoj Sarma, Director of Water and Urban Development of the Asian Development Bank; Jan Van der Vliet, Advisor to the Director Board; and Kamal Dahanayaka, Chief Project Officer for Urban and Sanitation of the Resident Mission of Sri Lanka, mentioned the above statement while they met with the Hon. Governor on Tuesday (19th May 2026).
During this meeting, the representatives stated that they had reviewed the projects that had been completed under their financial assistance as well as those currently being implemented. They also shared their views specifically regarding the drinking water supply project for the Jaffna Peninsula being carried out from Thalaiyadi. They emphasized the need to expedite the activities of providing drinking water connections to households through that project, and they also presented their suggestions regarding the connection charges.
The representatives expressed satisfaction that the ongoing water supply and infrastructure projects are nearing completion and that the public is already directly benefiting from them. They further noted that they had gained first-hand understanding of the development achievements reached so far as well as the challenges that still need to be addressed. They also pointed out that the experiences gained through this field visit would greatly assist in evaluating and approving new projects for this region once they return to their headquarters.
During the discussion, the Honorable Governor brought the drinking water issue faced by the people of Neduntheevu to the attention of the representatives. He explained that, as there is no other feasible way to supply drinking water to Neduntheevu, desalination of seawater into freshwater remains the only solution. The Governor further pointed out that the existing Reverse Osmosis Plant currently operating there is insufficient to meet the full water needs of the people, and therefore requested the establishment of an additional reverse osmosis desalination plant. In response, representatives of the Asian Development Bank requested the Governor to explore the possibility of utilizing the remaining savings from the current projects to support such new initiatives.
Furthermore, considering the very high operational cost of the water purification plant under the current peninsula drinking water supply project, the representatives also requested attention toward alternative plans to prevent rainwater in Jaffna from flowing directly into the sea and instead conserve and utilize it effectively. The meeting extensively discussed the alternative measures already undertaken in this regard, along with their advantages and disadvantages.
Subsequently, the representatives also stated that the Asian Development Bank would extend assistance for the wastewater management network project for Jaffna city. They further assured that the tender-calling process for this major project would commence within this year.
In addition, the representatives of the Asian Development Bank pointed out that the special program expected to be implemented nationwide to strengthen local government authorities would also include the underprivileged local authorities in the Northern Province, and that comprehensive support would be provided to them.
Among those who participated in the discussion were Northern Province Governor’s Secretary S. Sathiyaseelan, officials of the National Water Supply and Drainage Board, the Governor’s Private Secretary, coordinating secretaries, and several others.
