Lower Malwathu Oya reservoir project to be completed by 2029-2030

Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake says the Lower Malwathu Oya Multipurpose Development Project will help strengthen rural economies while allowing communities to contribute more directly to the national economy.

The President made the remarks during a discussion held at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo on September 3, 2026, to review the progress of the project and resolve issues that have delayed its future work.

The Lower Malwathu Oya project is another major reservoir project planned to be added to the Rajarata irrigation system.

President Dissanayake had also inspected the project site on August 29, 2026. Issues identified during that visit were further discussed at the September 3 meeting, and several practical solutions were reached to address them.

The project was launched 10 years ago but later stalled due to a lack of funding. The Government allocated Rs. 5,000 million in the 2026 Budget to resume its construction.

The project is expected to address water shortages, which are a major obstacle to rural development and agricultural production in the lower Malwathu Oya valley, while also creating a new development area in Thanthirimale.

It is also expected to increase cultivation intensity during the Yala and Maha seasons on 40,000 acres of paddy land under the Giant’s Tank and Akathimurippu Tank in the Mannar District.

Other expected benefits include providing drinking water, generating hydropower, controlling floods, developing a tourism zone, promoting the fisheries industry and helping to manage human-elephant conflict.

The Government aims to fully complete the Lower Malwathu Oya Reservoir Project and hand it over to the public by 2029-2030.

Once completed, it is expected to become the largest reservoir in the North Central Province.

Special attention was also given to land acquisition and resettlement activities connected with the project.

The President instructed officials to carry out the resettlement process together with the development of the required infrastructure so that displaced communities could be provided with a better standard of living than they had before.

Plans to introduce modern agricultural projects for the resettled communities were also discussed.

The discussion also focused on creating stable markets for their agricultural products through purchasing agreements with private-sector supermarket chains and export companies.

A proposal by the Chief Incumbent of the historic Thanthirimale Rajamaha Viharaya and Deputy Chief Sangha Nayaka of the Northern and Eastern Provinces, Most Venerable Thanthirimale Chandarathana Thera, was also discussed.

The proposal includes jointly constructing and maintaining an elephant fence through the Department of Wildlife Conservation, the Civil Security Department and the Sri Lanka Army.

It also proposes establishing natural barriers such as palmyrah fences as an effective long-term biological solution to human-elephant conflict.

The restoration of small- and medium-scale tanks was also discussed, including the resumption of the Kuda Wilachchiya Tank Project, where construction had been suspended due to the recent economic crisis.

Most Venerable Thanthirimale Chandarathana Thera said the Lower Malwathu Oya Reservoir Project is a major hope of the people of Rajarata.

He expressed appreciation for the commitment shown by the Government under the leadership of the President towards the project.

The Thera also expressed satisfaction that several decisions had been reached during the discussion in a manner that would strengthen public confidence in the project.

Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe, Senior Additional Secretary to the President Kapila Janaka Bandara, Secretary to the Ministry of Environment K.R. Uduwawala, Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation D.P. Wickramasinghe, and Anuradhapura District Secretary Ranjith Wimalasuriya were also present.

Divisional Secretaries, heads and representatives of relevant institutions including the Irrigation Department and the Department of Wildlife Conservation, senior security officials, Chief Project Director Anura Nelugolla and other project officials also participated in the discussion.