President Mahinda Rajapaksa will open the Upper Kotmale tunnel which is considered to be the longest tunnel in the country, today.
Upper Kotamle is almost the country's last large scale Hydro Power project with the capacity of 150 MW power generation added to national Grid with Japanese aid.
This project which was delayed for over a decade due to various social and environmental issues commenced on the directive of President Mahinda Rajapaksa just a few months after assuming duties in 2005.
This tunnel which is 12.9 km in length and has a diameter of 5.2 metres is to carry water from the Kotmale stream to the power station.
The construction of the project is done in five phases and nearly 74 per cent of the construction of the first phase has been completed while, 76 percent of the second phase, 79 percent of the third phase 57 percent of the fourth and 54 percent of the fifth phase are now completed. The Government of Japan provided a loan of Japanese Yen 33,265 million while the Ceylon Electricity Board spends Rs 87,000 million for the project which is to be completed by end of next year.
The demand for electricity has been growing at an annual rate of 7-8 percent and is expected to increase due to the liberation of the entire North and the East, and dividends of development being delivered to the rural areas.