Water released to the Upper Kotmale tunnel
Water entering the tunnel
Sri Lanka today released water to the tunnel of the Upper Kotmale hydro power project, which is the longest tunnel in the country.
The water which will flow through this 13 km long tunnel is expected to help turn the turbines of the power plant, which is the last such mega scale hydro power project carried out in Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Power and Energy says the plant will start test runs by the end of this month and once in full swing the project will generate 150 Megawatts of electricity.
The UKHP is located in the Nuwara Eliya district and will be using the water flowing from the Kotmale Oya, a branch of the Mahaweli Ganga to generate power.
Financing of this project was done by JICA running up to a sum of US$ 450 million.
Minister Champika Ranawaka releasing water into the tunnel
Project workers witnessing the event
Water running through the tunnel
