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Japan-funded Doppler to be installed by 2027
View(s):A Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-funded project to install a Doppler radar – a vital weather forecasting instrument – is expected to be finished by 2027 after years of delays.
A Doppler radar uses waves to detect precipitation, while also measuring its movement and speed, revealing wind direction and intensity, etc, giving meteorologists vital information for severe weather warnings.
The Sunday Times first reported in 2017 that JICA has agreed to fund the procurement and installation of two Doppler radars in 2017 (this was later reduced to one). The project was delayed owing to the pandemic, the economic crisis and various other factors but is now back on track, sources said. The equipment will be set up at the Puttalam meteorological station.
Contracts were signed with Japan Radio and Hazama Ando Corporation in June 2024 to start construction work while the suppliers were chosen in October the same year. 
The Met Department’s earlier attempt to install a Doppler radar with World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) collaboration ended in a costly disaster. The National Audit Office said Rs 400mn was passed in 2006-2007 to establish a Doppler radar system with a trust fund being set up with WMO for implementation.
The Gonagala peak in Deniyaya was selected for the instrument, with the radar to be installed on a 20m-high tower. The WMO bought the radar on the Met Department’s instructions from the Alabama-based Enterprise Electronics Corporation. After it was set up, however, the supplier notified the WMO that “electronic connectivity” could not be provided.
It is not clear where the old equipment is now. The Director General of the Meteorological Department has been barred from speaking to media after the cyclone.
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