Climate-Resilient Sustainable Water Supply and Sanitation Project (ADB-52246-001)

Regions
  • South Asia
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Sri Lanka
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Western and Southern Provinces of Sri Lanka
Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.
Financial Institutions
  • Asian Development Bank (ADB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Proposed
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Borrower
Government of Sri Lanka - Ministry of Transport, Highways and Urban Dev.
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Infrastructure
  • Water and Sanitation
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 200.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Other Related Projects
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ ADB website

Updated in EWS Jan 22, 2026

Disclosed by Bank Oct 17, 2025

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the project will rehabilitate and expand water supply coverage to about 155,000 households and improve the operational efficiency of services and management to provide safe, efficient, and climate-resilient water supply services in eight towns in the Western and Southern Provinces in Sri Lanka. It will promote (i) efficient use of resources by nonrevenue water (NRW) reduction and district metered area (DMA) approach, (ii) reduction of service levels discrepancies between rural and urban areas, and (iii) switching from groundwater to surface water source.

Though 87% of Sri Lanka's population has access to improved water supply, piped water supply coverage is only 54.6%. The National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB), with 2.4 million domestic connections, provides safe water to 41.3% of the population, while community-managed water supply schemes and local authorities provide water to 13.3%. Around 38.7% is covered with basic water supply through self-sufficient methods and nearby public point sources. The absence of a safely managed water supply has led to environmental degradation, increased public health risks, increased vulnerability to the impacts of climate change and natural hazards, and hampered economic growth. Aligned with the draft Public Investment Programme, 2021-2024, the government water sector target is to increase the proportion of households with access to safe drinking water to 100% (and 80% by pipe borne water). Aligned with NWSDB's Corporate Plan, 2020-2025, the project aims to expand service coverage, increase water production and storage capacities, and improve the efficiency of existing schemes and water quality and service levels.

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

Environment: B
Involuntary Resettlement: B
Indigenous Peoples: C

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

The financing amount is $200,000,000, which will be financed on a loan basis by ADB’s ordinary capital resources.


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Ministry of Water Supply & Project Director, National Water Supply and Drainage
Board (NWSDB)
Contact person: Mr. Thilina Wijetunge, General Manager of the NWSDB
email: gmnwsdb@gmail.com

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.adb.org/forms/request-information-form

ADB has a two-stage appeals process for requesters who believe that ADB has denied their request for information in violation of its Access to Information Policy. You can learn more about filing an appeal at: https://www.adb.org/site/disclosure/appeals

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF ADB

The Accountability Mechanism is an independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an Asian Development Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Accountability Mechanism, they may investigate to assess whether the Asian Development Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can learn more about the Accountability Mechanism and how to file a complaint at: http://www.adb.org/site/accountability-mechanism/main.

How it works

How it works