Nearly 49 percent of water supplied to Colombo is lost due to leakages in the distribution pipe system, incurring a considerable loss to the National Water Supply and Drainage Board, Deputy General Manager of the Colombo Water Supply Service Project Eng. Abdul Rasheed said. He also added that the projected funded by the Asian Development Bank will ensure that 60 percent of all pipes in Colombo are replaced.
“The water distribution pipe network which supplies drinking water is over 100 years old and is not sufficient to cater to the current and future requirements of the city with Port City coming up,” he said. To meet this growing need, this renovation will see the water distribution pipe network of 960 km being replaced at a cost of Rs. 40 billion,” he added. Eng. Rasheed said that the project is funded by the Asian Development Bank and will be completed by 2020.