|
||||||
Sri Lanka running out of sand Pilot project to promote use of sea sand in building construction Sri Lanka's building industry may face a shortage of sand for the construction industry, a senior government official warned last week. The construction
industry may face a serious shortage of sand if the over-exploitation
of river sand is not stopped and sea sand from offshore sites is
not promoted as a viable alternative, said Janapriya de Silva, chairman
of the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau. "We could
run short of sand in another two years' time," he declared. Sand mining
in river beds was doing serious damage to the environment, weakening
river banks and the foundations of bridges, and causing an incursion
of seawater upstream. The problem
became so severe that, with the onset of the drought, the water
pumping station at Avissawella was closed down recently because
of an incursion of seawater upriver. "The entire
construction industry could come to a halt unless alternatives are
given," de Silva warned. Demand for
sand is forecast to rise with a construction boom expected with
the revival of the economy and the reconstruction of the north and
east following the truce between the government and the Tamil Tigers. Sand would
be required in large quantities for the big highway and port projects
in the pipeline. The bureau,
along with other state agencies, plan to launch a pilot project
with a stockpile of offshore sand mined and kept for use by the
Road Development Authority at Muthurajawela. The project was proposed
by the Coast Conservation Department. "Our aim
is to introduce offshore sea sand to the construction industry as
a viable alternative to river sand," de Silva said. "Then,
hopefully, the focus on river sand would diminish. We want to promote
the use of sea sand among the biggest users such as construction
firms. "What
we want to stop is the over-exploitation of rivers," he added.
"We must strike a balance. Otherwise, the country is going
to face a crisis." Fears among
users that sea sand was not suitable for construction purposes because
of a high salt content were unwarranted, said Dr. N.P. Wijayananda,
director of the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau. "Studies
by the Moratuwa University show that the salt content in dredged
sea sand is 0.8 percent, within the acceptable limit of less than
one percent," he said. "So it is acceptable for construction
purposes." The bureau
has demarcated sand deposits off the southwest coast between Panadura
and Kalpitiya, he said. The bureau
allows dredging at selected sites 20 kilometres offshore in sand
deposits at a water depth of over 15 metres. "We've
identified the deposits and already given licences for mining sea
sand under very strict conditions," Dr. Wijayananda said. "Otherwise,
it can increase erosion of the coastline." The mining
season is between December and May. The stockpile
at Muthurajawela, mined from one site north of Colombo, has been
used for landfill purposes for Colombo Port's Jaye Container Terminal
and the modernisation of the Queen Elizabeth Quay that is now underway.
It is also used for the Colombo-Katunayake highway project. De Silva said
that offshore sand mining was a big industry in the industrialised
West and that sea sand was used in Europe for building purposes.
Sand used in
the civil engineering construction industry and for road building
in the island now comes from rivers and mining is done on licences
issued by the bureau. No licences are issued for mechanised mining.
Large deposits
of sand with the properties required for building purposes are found
in the middle and lower reaches of the Kelani River, Kalu Ganga,
Maha Oya and Deduru Oya, according to the Geological Survey and
Mines Bureau. Sand along
riverbanks is mined using manual labour and buckets and wicker baskets
while deeper water sand is mined by divers who load it on to barges.
Surveys by
the bureau have revealed that sand is mined mainly by businessmen
most of whom own land by the rivers. De Silva said
river sand mining was becoming a social issue, much like the coral
mining problem. "River
sand mining is difficult to stop despite the harm caused,"
he said. "A sizeable section of the poor could lose their livelihood." "But it is better to give a warning in time so that they could find alternative employment." Bartleet
gets into insurance The new venture
would be called the Life Insurance Company (Lanka) Ltd, company
officials said. The 44-year-old
Life Insurance Corporation of India is a big insurance firm in India
and had been operating in the island before the nationalisation
of the insurance industry in the 1960s. It operates
over 2,000 offices and has 120,000 employees and 800,000 agents. Bartleet is a 98-year-old brokerage company that is well known in the plantations industry and has expanded into other sectors such as finance, information technology, engineering, and imports and exports. Have
fun Sri Lankans The Ministry
of Home Affairs said in a statement there would by 25 public and
bank holidays in 2003 which is unchanged from this year or 2001.
This means Sri Lankans would be on holiday for 129 days of the year
inclusive of the 52 weekends. "It's
just not right. We have been consistently urging the government
to cut holidays if we are to be productive and stay competitive
in the region," noted Chandra Jayaratne, chairman of the Chamber
of Commerce (CCC). He said there were much fewer holidays in other
export-competing markets like China, India or Vietnam. Jayaratne said
he was surprised by the announcement issued more than a week ago
because the "proposed National Employment Policy talks of a
revision in the number of holidays". The CCC and
many other chambers have urged the government to at least do away
with the extra holiday given when official holidays fall on a Saturday
or Sunday. Patrick Amarasinghe, a veteran chamber personality who
has previously headed a chamber federation and the National Chamber
of Exporters, expressed disappointment over the move. "How can
we talk of a national productivity policy and make this nation productive
if we have too many holidays?" he asked, stressing the need
to cut the number of Poya holidays and only provide for the most
important events in the Buddhist calendar. Amarasinghe
suggested that holidays need to be rationalised by providing long
stretches of one-two weeks holiday during the Sinhala and Tamil
New Year, and Christmas and reducing holidays during the rest of
the year on the lines of practices followed in China or Hong Kong. "In any
case people hardly ever work during the New Year and Christmas periods.
Factory workers keep away for days forcing us anyway to close,"
he said noting that Sri Lanka is fast becoming uncompetitive because
it was often on holiday while the rest of the world was at work. Home Ministry officials were not available for comment on the holiday schedule.
The joint venture
has just been approved by the Board of Investment and would use
a 40,000 tonne tanker barge stationed off Hambantota, Master Divers
chairman Ariyaseela Wickremanayake said. "We hope
to be operational by September," he said. Bakri would
supply the fuel oil while Master Divers would operate the vessel. The two companies
were in the initial bidding for Lanka Marine Services (LMS), the
Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) subsidiary that is the monopoly
provider of bunkers in the island. The offshore
bunkering operation is being set up following the liberalisation
of the industry. The government is keen to exploit the island's
strategic location almost astride the main shipping lane. Most ships
passing Sri Lanka do not take on bunkers at Colombo mainly because
of the high cost and restricted quantities. LMS has been
forced to limit supplies and charge high prices because most of
the bunker fuel produced by the CPC's Sapugaskande refinery is going
to feed thermal power plants. LMS also has been importing parcels of bunker fuel because of the shortage in the CPC. IOC
to give new image to fuel stations "It's
going to be a different ball game altogether," said Nalin Pathikirikorale,
Chairman of Lankpro (Ceylon) Ltd, the agent for IOC in Sri Lanka,
adding that a "few outlets should be ready by October".
The IOC's entry
into the Sri Lankan market and the contemplated reforms would provide
a "new image" of the entire petroleum sector, he said
in an interview. IOC will enter
the Sri Lankan market under a Memorandum of Understanding signed
between the Indian and Sri Lankan governments in June. The IOC will
spend about three billion rupees in a phased programme to develop
the tank farm, jetty and pumping facility, and retail outlets. It
will invest in and improve retailing to eventually capture a 50
percent market share by volume. There are more
than 1,000 petrol sheds in the island of which only about 360 are
owned by the CPC with the rest being operated as franchises or by
dealers. IOC intends
to provide more facilities and services to customers by having convenience
stores, food courts, automatic teller machines in tie-ups with banks,
Internet kiosks, and communication centres at selected retail outlets,
Pathikirikorale said. "Whoever
gives the best service at a lower cost would do better," he
said. Under the MoU,
the Indian oil major will lease all 99 tanks in the China Bay tank
farm in Trincomalee owned by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC)
and acquire 100 CPC service stations and filling stations as well
as build and operate its own outlets. It will initially
refurbish and use about 10-15 tanks in China Bay to store products
for distribution in the north and east and later market the rest
to other players. Petroleum products would be shipped from the IOC's
refinery in Chennai, India. The IOC is
entering the island as part of its thrust into new markets such
as Nepal and Bangladesh, Pathikirikorale said. Sri Lanka imports
about two million tonnes of petroleum products a year. New regulations
would be framed to provide an overall policy framework and standards
in the liberalised petroleum product sector such as the size and
minimum distance between two outlets, as well as the facilities
and volumes that would be available in an outlet. An IOC team is currently in Trincomalee inspecting the facility. Work on the tank farm and retail outlets will start once the lease is worked out by year's end. |
||||||
Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
