In early 2000, only 29% of Sri Lanka’s population, mostly in urban areas, had piped water services. One-quarter of the population had no access to safe sanitation. To achieve its Millennium Development Goal to reduce by 50% the number of people without access to safe drinking water, the government pursued a two−pronged strategy to engage in large-scale expansion of urban schemes and undertake a vast number of small-scale community water and sanitation initiatives.
In support of the strategy, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) provided 5 loans, amounting to $137.9 million, for the Secondary Towns and Rural Community-Based Water Supply and Sanitation Project. The first of these loans was approved in 2003, during a ceasefire following 2 decades of civil conflict. The next 2 loans incorporated an emergency assistance response to the Indian Ocean tsunami that hit some parts of the country in 2004. The last 2 loans, comprising additional financing, were approved in 2011, to meet funding shortfalls.
Overall, the project aimed to contribute in improving the health conditions in 4 urban areas and 3 rural districts. Its planned outcome was the provision of pipe−borne safe water to 946,000 people and safe sanitation to 171,500 people, recalculated respectively at 750,000 and 131,500 people during the project completion report (PCR) mission. Project outputs were categorized under 3 main components: urban, rural and institutional strengthening of the implementing agency. The first 2 components included implementing water supply schemes, a wastewater treatment plant, road side drainage and domestic toilets. Component 3 involved awareness campaigns, training programs, and the development of operational strategies.
At completion, the project achieved its planned physical outputs but with significant shortfalls, and mostly, with a delay of least 2 years. It provided 509,001 people with access to safe drinking water, compared to the recalculated 750,000−target; and 93,556 people with access to safe sanitation, against the revised 131,500−target. In the urban areas, access to safe drinking water was increased through the construction of 2 new water systems and the expansion and/or upgrading of existing ones. In the rural areas, this was realized through the construction or rehabilitation of piped schemes, rain-fed harvesting, or protected well facilities in the rural villages. Rural water supply and sanitation works were demand−driven and implemented by beneficiary community−based organizations (CBOs). Nongovernment organizations, pradeshiya sabhas (municipal administrations), and provincial councils tapped to assist the CBOS were trained in implementation and operation and maintenance activities. Beneficiaries’ sense of ownership of the facilities was developed by engaging them in the design and implementation of the subprojects as well as requiring them to should part of the costs.
Besides output shortfalls and an implementation period that extended to around 13 years, massive cost overruns were also encountered. Key contributory factors included inflation of material and equipment costs, underestimation of civil works costs at formulation, and inflated bid prices due to security risks. Other shortcomings observed by the PCR mission were similarly serious: some urban beneficiaries were reluctant to use the project-supplied water for reasons not completely known to the mission; 1 of the 2 urban water supply schemes was not yet fully operational, with the connection target expected to be reached during 2016–2018; only around half of the rural water supply schemes were functional and only a minimal handover of small schemes was achieved.
ADB’s South Asia Department rated the project less than successful. The changes in implementation arrangements were numerous to mention.
