Cabinet nod for $ 310 m climate resilience project

• 5-year phase one of $ 774 m WB project approved, funding from IBRD 

Cabinet yesterday approved $ 310 million first phase funding of a $ 774 million climate resilience project to be funded by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) that is part of the World Bank.  

The Cabinet paper presented by Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said that the aim of the project was to support the Government on flood risk mitigation and enhancing resilience in prioritised river basins. The Climate Resilience Multiphase Programmatic Approach (CRes MPA) will be implemented with objective to increase the number of people and assets protected against flood risk in priority river basins. 

CRes MPA will be implemented in three phases over a period of eight years. Cabinet this week gave approval for the first phase, which is titled ‘Flood Early Warning and Lower Kelani Flood Risk Mitigation Project’ that will cost $ 310 million. Under the second phase the Government will borrow $ 169 million for Kelani Basin flood risk mitigation and in the third phase $ 295 million will be earmarked for the Mundeni Basin Flood Risk Mitigation and Reservoir Project.

The Project Development Objective (PDO) of the first phase is to enhance the capacity of the Government to deliver improved weather and climate forecasting and early warning; and to reduce flood risks in the lower Kelani basin (Hanwella to Kaduwela). 

The PDO will be achieved through: (i) comprehensive structural and nonstructural flood risk mitigation investments in the Kelani basin (Hanwella to Kaduwela); (ii) modernization of hydro-meteorological information and services, modernisation of forecasting and early warning systems, improved dissemination of weather, climate and hydrological forecasts, improved warnings information to key end-users and communities; and (iii) development of real-time flood operational guidelines and establishment of institutional arrangements and increased capacity for early warning and flood risk management.

Phase one of the MPA has five main components and will be implemented over a period of five years.