Puttalam: Defence Secretary Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retd) visited the Doppler Weather Radar Network project site in Puttalam today (29 Jul) to review the progress of the Japanese grant-funded project, which is expected to significantly strengthen Sri Lanka’s weather forecasting and early warning capabilities.

According to Ministry of Defence – Sri Lanka, upon arrival at the project site, the Defence Secretary was warmly received by the Director General of the Department of Meteorology, Mr. A.L.K. Wijemannage. He was briefed on the overall scope and significance of the project before the site inspection commenced.

During the inspection, project engineers provided the Defence Secretary with a comprehensive briefing on the ongoing construction work, the progress achieved since his previous visit, and the future implementation schedule. According to the project timeline, installation of the radar system is scheduled to commence in January next year, while the entire project is expected to be completed by the end of July next year.

Expressing satisfaction with the progress achieved thus far, the Defence Secretary underscored the importance of completing the project within the planned timeframe to further enhance the country’s disaster preparedness, improve weather forecasting accuracy and strengthen resilience against extreme weather events.