World Bank, ADB projects

The World Bank is planning to support the Environment Ministry’s Pilisaru project. “We’re in discussion with the Ministry of Environment and the Central Environmental Authority,” says Dr. Sumith Pilapitiya, senior environmentalist at the World Bank’s Colombo office.

In 1996, the World Bank set up the Colombo Environmental Improvement Programme to address the solid waste problem in Colombo, The plan was to properly engineer a sanitary landfill for the CMC and 22 surrounding councils. Since the landfill was to be largely removed from Colombo and it being non-economical to have the usual garbage trucks to and fro, they were also to build a network of Transfer Stations.

The garbage was to be collected by the primary collectors and transported to Transfer Stations, which would then employ larger container-like vehicles to transport the garbage to the site. There was also to be a pilot project to make compost only of the organic garbage.

A list of 6-7 sites was earmarked, but due to public protests none were taken up. Padukka, Welisara and Alupotha were started on while protests grew by NGOs and the public. Due to the lack of commitment by the authorities, the US$18 million project was eventually cancelled.

The Asian Development Bank is funding the Local Government Infrastructure Improvement Programme. Here the ADB is helping local authorities to improve their infra in water supply, solid waste management. ADB officials said many councils’ have sent project proposals which include solid waste and water supply.

The total project cost is US$66.7 million of which the ADB is contributing $50 million. The balance comes from the government ($12 million) and councils ($4.7 million).