New equipment to preserve internal waterways handed over
Monday, 26 August 2013 00:00
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Under the auspices of the Metro Colombo Urban Development Project led by the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development, new dredging machines and other equipment were handed over to the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation at a function held at the Ministry premises on Friday.
Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa participated at the event as the Chief Guest.
Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the Country Director of the World Bank were also present.
New machinery and equipment worth approximately Rs. 500 million with a concessionary loan provided by the World Bank was ceremonially handed over during the session.
This is an initiative of the Metro Colombo Urban Development Project, one of the key urban regeneration projects driven by the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development, aimed at reducing flooding while improving necessary infrastructure and services in the Metro Colombo Region. Since its commencement mid last year, the result-oriented project has continued at a rapid pace.
The seven recently opened public convenience complexes conforming to international standards were the first outcomes of the project. The commencement of another fourteen sub-projects in infrastructure development and canal bank rehabilitation are also in the pipeline. This is a vital move and a step forward for the corporation, as most of the dredging machinery was being hired from costly outside sources. The machinery handed over are as follows; five DOOSAN Amphibious Excavators, four DOOSAN Crawler Excavators (14 ton), 10 DOOSAN Crawler Excavators (20 ton), six DOOSAN Long Reach Excavators (20 ton), four Push Boats, two CATERPILLAR Mini Excavators and 100 Working Platforms.
