President Anura Kumara Dissanayake inspected the Lower Malwathu Oya Multi-Purpose Development Project on Saturday morning, a reservoir scheme in the north that has restarted after years of delay and is now scheduled for completion by the end of 2029.

The project began about a decade ago before work halted. It has resumed under the current government, which has allocated Rs. 5 billion for 2026 alone, and is being funded entirely from domestic sources.

The reservoir is being built by damming the Malwathu Oya at Bogoda in Thanthirimale, linking the Anuradhapura district in the North Central Province with the Vavuniya district in the Northern Province. With a storage capacity of 169,400 acre-feet, it is set to become the largest reservoir in the North Central Province and to join the Rajarata irrigation system.

Construction progress

Hiru News, reporting in Sinhala, carried construction detail NewsFirst did not. The main dam, 3.4 kilometres long, is about 60 percent complete, and structural work on the right-bank sluice has been finished. Foundation excavation and rock blasting have begun for the project’s powerhouse.

An elephant fence, the rehabilitation of small tanks and an archaeological museum are also being built under the scheme.

Resettlement

Hiru reported that 315 families are being displaced by the reservoir. The President instructed officials to provide them with land and with housing supplied with electricity and drinking water, and to direct them towards smart agriculture using solar-powered lift irrigation. NewsFirst did not mention the displaced families.

What the reservoir is meant to do

NewsFirst reported that the scheme is expected to provide a permanent solution to drinking water needs in the Anuradhapura, Vavuniya and Mannar districts, supply water for agriculture and rural development in the lower Malwathu Oya basin, generate hydroelectricity, control floods, and promote tourism and freshwater fisheries. A new development zone is planned for the Thanthirimale area.

Hiru added that the reservoir would allow 40,000 acres of paddy land in the Mannar district to be cultivated in both the Yala and Maha seasons.

The President discussed progress, problems and requirements with project officials, and told them to speed up construction so the benefits reach people without delay.

The visit comes during a prolonged dry spell in which islandwide reservoir storage has fallen to about 36 percent and Minneriya has dropped to the same level as Polonnaruwa’s Yala releases are shut off.

Update (September 5): follow-up meeting at the Presidential Secretariat

The problems identified during the site visit were taken up at a further discussion chaired by the President at the Presidential Secretariat, attended by officials and representatives of all the institutions involved, NewsFirst reported on Friday.

The President said a number of positive solutions had been identified to unblock the project’s remaining work, and stressed the need to expedite construction so the benefits reach rural communities. Developing the country’s irrigation system, he said, can build a stronger rural economy and let those communities contribute directly to the national economy.

NewsFirst restated the Rs. 5 billion allocated to the project in the 2026 Budget, and that the scheme was begun about a decade ago before stalling for lack of funds. It did not give a date for the Presidential Secretariat meeting, name the officials present, or specify what the identified problems and solutions were.

Sources