Engineer M. S. M. De Silva



Daily News 24.10 2016



M. S. M. De Silva

He made significant contribution to Lanka’s dam construction

Chartered civil engineer M. S. M. de Silva passed away in September 2006 at the age of 80 and on the occasion of his 10th death anniversary, it is necessary to recall the significant contribution he made to dam construction in Sri Lanka, over a period of 30 years, having worked in all major development projects undertaken during that period.

He was associated with the design and/or construction of the following dam projects: Ekgaloya, Jayanthiwewa, Amabalanoya , Namal oya and Pannal oya Earth Dams in the Galoya Project; Chandrikawewa , Uda Walawe Earth Dams in the Walawe Project; Bowatenna Concrete Gravity Dam, Maduruoya Rockfill Dam, Dambullaoya and Ulhitiyaoya Earth Dams in the Mahaweli Project; as well as Rajangana Concrete Gravity Dam, Mousakelle Concrete Gravity Dam, Canyon Concrete Arch Dam, and the Lunugamwehera Earth Dam.

He commenced his engineering career in 1953 in the Galoya Development Board soon after he returned from the United Kingdom, and made a name for himself as a brilliant and dynamic engineer.

His reputation earned him the position of Director/General Manager at Ceylon Development Engineering Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of United Tractors Ltd in 1959.

He served there till 1969. He functioned as General Manager of the State Development and Construction Corporation in 1971/72 as technical adviser, Planning and Economic Affairs Ministry from 1972 to 1977 and as technical secretary, River Valleys Development Board from 1977 to 1982.

Gamini Seneviratne, the then Additional Secretary at the Finance Ministry handling the Accelerated Mahaweli Project, in an article titled Vignettes of the Public Service-The Reservoirs , published on May 10, 2009, refers to the role of MSM as follows: “ The big reservoirs were constructed by foreign firms, i.e., apart from Ulhitiya, constructed by the RVDB, incidentally providing M. S. M. de Silva, that vishvakarma among our civil engineers, an opportunity to demonstrate the efficiency of our public sector in this area vis a vis our private sector: the CDE fell way behind with Ratkinda thereby delaying by a year or more the transfer of water from the Mahaweli to the Maduru Oya basin. MSM got that done.”

It is a little known fact that MSM was not in favour of the present Lunugamvehera site and instead pointed out the advantages of a site at Huratgamuwa but apparently this proposal was shelved on the ground that investigations had already been completed in respect of the proposed Lunugamvehera Project and that consideration of any other proposal at that stage would mean a further delay.

MSM also prepared a conceptual proposal called the ‘Southern Area plan’ to transfer excess water from the southwest wet zone to the southeast dry zone by means of an Upper and a Lower Transbasin diversion canal.

Geologist Dr. Panabokke and engineer Carlo Fernando also suggested the diversion of the Kalu Ganga

to the southeast dry zone and supported this proposal but it too did not materialise.

It may still be possible to look into the feasibility of this proposal which was intended to benefit the Hambantota area.

MSM hailed from a well known family in Gintota, Galle and had six sisters and one brother. He married late in life, and had no children.

K. de Silva


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