China Eximbank provides $147.9 million preferential buyer’s credit for the Thalpitigala Reservoir Project

China Eximbank provides $147.9 million preferential buyer’s credit for the Thalpitigala Reservoir Project On December 22, 2017, the Export-Import Bank of China signed a $147.9 million preferential buyer’s credit (PBC) loan agreement with the Government of Sri Lanka for the Thalpitigala Reservoir Project.

The estimated total cost of the project is $174 million, and the remaining 15% of the project cost ($26.1 million) that was not covered by the China Eximbank loan was provided by the People's Bank, a state-owned commercial bank in Sri Lanka. The contractor responsible for project implementation is Sinohydro Corporation Ltd.

As of March 31, 2018, funds had not yet been disbursed, but a pre-feasibility study had been completed and the PBC loan agreement had been approved.

The objective of the Thalpitigala Reservoir Project is to improve the agricultural productivity in the Badulla district by providing irrigation water while enhancing provision of safe drinking water and generation of hydropower.

The scope of this project includes the provision of irrigation water to new and existing lands around 1400 hectares in the area through constructing upstream of the Battmedilla anicut in the Badulla district (within Uva Province), and the provision of safe drinking water facilities to Wasanagama, Madulla, Thetilla and Beramada villages in the Kandaketiya Divisonal Secretary's Division.

It also involves the construction of a hydropower station with a capacity of 15 MW that will generate 51 GWh of hydro power annually to fed the national grid.

More specifically, this project will construct a concrete gravity dam in the mode of Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) across Uma Oya, approximately 3 km upstream of the existing Bathmedilla Anicut (near the village Hunuketiya), to establish a 15.56 mcm capacity reservoir at full supply level of 454 m.

The height of the proposed dam will be 45.7 m and it will result in the inundation of 96 ha of land confined mainly to the banks of the deep river valley.

The head works of the project include the dam, a spillway with seven radial gates (10m x 7.2m), water intake, headrace tunnel, surge shaft, penstock, power house and new access roads.

In addition to the head works the project will also involve construction of structures such as camp sites, site offices, storage areas, vehicle parks etc which can use later for community purposes. The project commencement date was December 22, 2017.