Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation, Mr. K.D. Lalkantha, inspected the North Central Province Maha Ela Project

Water is brought to the North Central Province through the Moragahakanda Kalu Ganga Reservoir under the North Central Province Maha Ela Project. Under the first phase, these construction activities are carried out from the Moragahakanda Reservoir to Mahakanadarawa.

As part of these constructions, a tunnel with a diameter of 7.6 meters is being built to transport a water volume of 40 cubic meters per second. Through this, it is expected to provide drinking water to the people of the Anuradhapura District. By providing irrigation water to 12,500 hectares, many farming families will benefit through this project.

A canal extending 95.8 kilometers in length is being constructed from Moragahakanda to Mahakanadarawa, of which 27.7 kilometers is being built as a tunnel route in order to protect wildlife reserves and such. Accordingly, this project operates while minimizing environmental damage. The project, which commenced on March 10, 2021, is scheduled to be completed on March 16, 2026. So far, 64.5% of the work has been completed. It is noteworthy that despite facing challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic downturn since the project's inception, it has continued to operate uninterrupted.

Today (14^th), Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation, Mr. K.D. Lalkantha, visited to inspect the North Central Province Maha Ela Project. Participating in the occasion, the Minister expressed his views regarding this project.

The main objective of this project is to transport water from Moragahakanda to the Anuradhapura District, to the North Central Province up to Mahakanadarawa. Next, there is the North Western Maha Ela Project. What we inspected today is the tunnel here. This is the largest project in South Asia. Work is being carried out to complete it by around the end of 2026. 

When this project is compared with a project like Uma Oya, the environmental damage caused by this and the problems faced by the people are extremely minimal. The impact on groundwater is also less. The huge problem we face is what to do with things like the rock debris removed from inside. There is a possibility of using them for other development activities in the country. We are maintaining this within a wildlife protected zone. It needs to be simply removed and cleared away. We need investors who can turn this into a great resource. Currently, it is being taken to the surrounding areas in small quantities. That removal does not provide an answer to this problem. Therefore, we are asking entrepreneurs throughout the country to look into this. We must complete this tunnel work very quickly.