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Govt vows contractual action against CHEC on landfill project
View(s):The Government has vowed to take contractual action against China Harbour Engineering Co. Ltd (CHEC)–builders of the sanitary landfill in Aruwakkalu– for discharging excessive amounts of water, along with soil, into the Serakkuliya lagoon.
Muddy flood waters flowing from the construction site into the lagoon
The contractor has also been told to come up with a water management plan to ensure that water collecting on site is not discharged in a similar manner in future. The Megapolis Ministry project has attracted widespread criticism on environmental grounds. Photographs and videos depicting muddy flood waters flowing from the construction site into the lagoon, turning it red, are being widely shared on social media.
“We have to accept that China Harbour pumped out water that collected in the lowest place, into the adjoining forest,” said Jayawilal Fernando, Project Director attached to the Megapolis Ministry. “There was a ridge and, due to them discharging a little more water into the low-lying area, the ridge broke and water flowed into the lagoon along with the eroded soil.”
“We have informed the contractor and will take action within contractual obligations,” he continued. The contractor has to come up with a water management plan quickly. Remedial measures will be adopted in tandem with the consultant. They will also not discharge water into the same place and will find an alternative location.”
The landfill construction, meanwhile, has fallen behind schedule, with officials blaming the recent torrential rains. The implementation period is just 25 months, but work on the Kelaniya transfer station (where garbage will be temporarily deposited before being transported by rail to Aruwakkalu) has not begun. All the structures and roads at this location are to be on pile foundations, as the land on which the transfer station is to be built is a designated flood retention area, and filling is prohibited.
However, piling work is yet to start. Railway extension work on the Kelaniya and Aruwakkalu transfer stations has also not begun. Garbage (1,200 tons) collected in Colombo will be compressed at Kelaniya and taken by train to the landfill site.
“Bad weather had made it impossible to do earthworks,” said Mr Fernando. The soil at Aruwakkalu is red and loose. Continuous rain had caused delays. “We have the same problem at Kelaniya, with water levels about one-and-a-half feet above ground level,” he explained. “The Minister had a discussion with the contractor’s top management and they agreed to provide us with a catch-up programme.”
The sanitary landfill site
“The Megapolis Ministry expects partial completion by the end of December, with the entire project being done by October 2019,” Mr Fernando said. Under the tender, part of the landfill cells should have been ready six months after commencement of work, to receive garbage from Colombo transported in municipal garbage trucks.