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| Tuesday, 5 August 2003 |
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Rs. 1,198 m Japanese grant to augment Matara water supply scheme The visiting Senior Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan Tetsuro Yano yesterday reiterated the importance of the commencement of peace talks between the government and the LTTE. Tetsuro said that it is regrettable that the LTTE is not taking part in the peace process at a time when the international community is willing to assist the country in implementing development projects. Speaking at an agreement signing ceremony in Colombo yesterday, Yano said that Japan strongly hopes that the LTTE would return to the negotiating table immediately. He added that Japan will make every effort to promote the peace process. At the signing of the grant agreement between Japan and Sri Lanka for the Matara water supply scheme Finance Minister K.N. Choksy said that the government of Japan and its people are actively assisting the people of Sri Lanka in their two most important tasks - the establishment of peace and building Sri Lanka's economy. The government of Japan recently extended its goodwill for the progress of the peace talks, Ratwatte said. Japan has been Sri Lanka's single largest donor nation. Its financial assistance has been directed to the development of our infrastructure. Nearly, one-third of our power generation is due to Japan's financial assistance. The upper Kotmale project is Japan's most recent contribution to the power sector. The Government of Japan has provided a grant of Rs. 1,198 million (yen 1,498 million) for the augmentation of the Matara water supply scheme. The grant will finance the expansion of the Kadduwa intake, Malimbada water treatment plant, installation of raw water transmission pipeline and clear water transmission pipeline and improvement of distribution pipeline network to cover Diyagaha, Kekunadura, Talpawila, Makawita and Weragampita areas. The project will be implemented by The National Water Supply and Drainage Board of the Ministry of Housing and Plantation Infrastructure. Upon completion of this project 28,655 new beneficiaries will be provided with pipe-borne water supply facilities while 200,000 people will be benefitedt with improved service level. The project will also check the morbidity of water-borne diseases and bring about reduction in water fetching time of women and children. The grant for the improvement of the Matara Water Supply was realised consequent to discussions held between the two governments to provide safe water for everybody in the first decade of the third millennium. The government of Sri Lanka gives priority to "access safe water and sanitation" in the Regaining Sri Lanka Document and has sustained the improvement of the sector over the past fifteen years. The project has been designed through the assistance provided by the Government of Japan under its Development Study Program in the year 2002. Similar development assistance has been provided by the Government of Japan for the construction and extension of water supply in different regions in Sri Lanka over the past few years amounting over Rs. 20 billion (Yen 26 billion) under Yen Loans and Rs. 4 billion (Yen 5 billion) in the form of grant aid. The signing of the exchange of notes for this grant took place at the Ministry of Finance yesterday. Seiichiro Otsuka, Ambassador of Japan in Sri Lanka signed the Exchange of Letters on behalf of the Government of Japan and J. Charitha Ratwatte, Secretary Ministry of Finance on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka. The agreement was signed in the presence of K. N. Choksy, Minister of Finance and Senior vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan Tetsuro Yano, who is in Sri Lanka on an official visit. |
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