Govt. seeks public views on Kandy waste water project
View(s):In what is seen as a growing area of transparency, the Sri Lankan Government is seeking the views of the public on a new waste water project in Kandy.
For this purpose, the assistance of an experienced Public Relations agency is being sought and bids have been called for this purpose in a public notice.
“The project approach suggests obtaining assistance from an experienced Public Relations Agency to conduct comprehensive PR campaign to create awareness among city dwellers and the migrant population at large on project benefits and receive their fullest cooperation during the design and construction of the project and prevent any spontaneous objections to the project. Hence the PR campaign shall design and execute to address all concerns expressed by the people in Kandy City and create a better climate to achieve project objectives. Overall the proposed PR campaign will be a supplementary assistance to all other activities carried out by the Kandy City Wastewater Management Project (KCWMP) to implement the project smoothly and without any disruptions,” the public announcement, in the media, said.
The Government of Sri Lanka has received a financial assistance from Japan Bank of International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the implementation of KCWMP. The main objective of the project is to improve the existing sanitation conditions of the city and create a cleaner, healthier environment which will bring prestige to Kandy City and the nation, it said.
“Subsequent notable impacts of the project will be an improvement of scenic beauty of the Kandy Lake and the quality of water in Mahaveli River. At present sewer and effluent from septic tanks especially in low income communities and gray water from other households are discharged into Kandy Lake and Mahaveli River, the primary drinking water source of the city. The proposed project intends to provide waste water disposal facilities to an estimated 12,600 households located in the project area in KMC limits,” it said.
The KCWMP is to be implemented by the Water Board with the assistance of a joint venture of Nihon Suido Consultants, NJS Consultants, Nippon Koei Consultants and Ceywater Consultants.
The PR campaign is expected to commence in July 2014 and be completed in about July 2019.