For a long time, the residents of Kurunegala (K city) in Sri Lanka have been plagued with water pollution, lack of clean drinking water as well as chronic diseases including the kidney disease. Now, the long-standing problem is expected to be alleviated and even fundamentally solved.

　　

On the afternoon of August 13, in Kurunegala, about 70km north of Colombo, capital of Sri Lanka, over 1,000 people attended the completion ceremony of the Kurunegala water supply and sewage treatment project (hereinafter referred to as the “K Water Plant Project”). Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sri Lankan City Planning and Water Supply Minister Hakeem, CMEC Party Secretary Han Xiaojun, CMEC Sri Lanka Company General Manager Wang Ludong, Commercial Counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka Yang Zuoyuan, and Head of the Sri Lankan Work Group of the Export-Import Bank of China Ma Xiang and others witnessed the supply of clean drinking water to the families of Kurunegala.

　　

"I did not expect that, in my last years, I have the opportunity to drink clean tap water, which is expected to address the root causes of chronic diseases including the kidney disease, I feel thankful to the Chinese government for its concessional loan and Chinese engineering technicians for their selfless contributions!" said Mahindra, an ordinary resident near the K water plant.

　　

Mahindra said that there is few clean drinking water plants in Kurunegala for a long time. As a result, wastewater can not be effectively treated, the drinking water sources have been polluted, many people have been affected with chronic kidney diseases, many families suffer from heavy burdens, and the voice for solving the problem of clean drinking water becomes louder. Kurunegala is dubbed as the “City of Stone”, and half of a stone hill needs to be chiseled away at the site of the water supply plant. Particularly, pipe laying needs blast working, and its great difficulties in operation due to the special geological conditions have deterred many foreign investors. It is gratifying that the construction of the K water plant, which received concessional loan from the Export-Import Bank of China and was undertaken by CMEC, was finally kicked off, bringing new hopes of healthy life to local residents.

　　

At the completion ceremony of the K water plant, Ranil Wickremesinghe said that Kurunegala is a strategic town in the central part of the country, and it is imperative to energetically develop facilities for water supply, treatment and public health. He said that he was glad to see that the K water plant had been finally completed and put into use after three years of hard work of the engineering technicians of Sri Lanka. The project helps address major concerns for people's livelihood, improve the living standard and health of local people, inject new vitality into local economic and social development, and is conducive to building the city into an international metropolis like Colombo.

　　

Yang said at the completion ceremony that the K water plant is the first project integrating water supply and sewage treatment in Sri Lanka, and the first large-scale comprehensive water-related project beyond Colombo. Kurunegala is a “city of stone”, and the biggest bottleneck of the project is that the rocks have to be chiseled away and the pipes must be buried for blast at the site. The water plant will not only benefit over 70,000 local residents, but also significantly improve the quality of the underground water and lake through water treatment. Particularly, the project is expected to increase the living quality of local residents and protect the local environment. We are looking forward to seeing more such effective cooperation.

　　

Yang said China and Sri Lanka are good neighbors, friends and partners. Ancient Silk Road and Buddhist beliefs closely link the two countries and their people. Currently, in accordance with the consensus reached between the leaders of the two countries, China will achieve synergy with the development strategy of Sri Lanka under the framework of "Belt & Road" initiative and the two countries will join hands to push forward the bilateral relationship.

　　

Yang pointed out that many Chinese enterprises such as CMEC have undertaken major projects including the K water plant, enhancing the living standard of local residents and injected vitality for sustainable economic and social development of Sri Lanka. Chinese enterprises promise to carry out all projects in strict accordance with international standards, comply with local laws and regulations, meet reasonable requirements of owners, and hope that such friendly cooperation will continue to deepen and bring the people of the two countries with more tangible benefits.

　　

Like many other Chinese countries, CMEC had entered the market of Sri Lanka in the midst of the civil war of the country, and undertaken a number of important construction projects, including coal-fired power plant and water plant, etc. for improving people's living standard, making positive contributions to postwar reconstruction and economic and social development of the country. Amongst the projects, the Puttalam Coal-fired Power Plant undertaken by CMEC provides Sri Lanka with over 50% of electric power supply of the country, making Sri Lanka preliminarily get rid of the severe power shortage and become the “cash printer” of Ceylon Electricity Board, the owner of the project.

　　

When the K water plant was put into operation, the construction of Attanagalla Water Plant, the largest single-building project undertaken by CMEC in Sri Lanka, was under way. With a time limit of three years, the water plant is a project that the government of Sri Lanka gives priority to for improving its people’s livelihood. Upon completion, it will cover an area of 397 square kilometers, is expected to provide the 600 thousand people in 42 local villages with clean drinking water, and give a great help to solving the problems of supplying clean drinking water and eradicating chronic diseases including the kidney disease in local places.

　　

As relevant person pointed out, China always supports Sri Lanka for its efforts for improving the quality of drinking water and addressing the problem of kidney disease, and will take many effective measures to help Sri Lanka. For example, in recent years, under the support of China's concessional loans, relevant Chinese companies have carried out several water supply projects in Sri Lanka and provided local residents with clean drinking water, playing an important role in strengthening prevention from and treatment of kidney diseases and giving a new meaning to the traditional friendship between China and Sri Lanka.