READYMADE SEA SAND FROM KERAWALAPITIYA
In a world which is rapidly changing, it is a must for a country to evolve and focus on new technology and innovative ideas which walk hand in hand with the ideologies prevailing in the global community.
With this in mind, the Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation (SLLDC) which is a subsidiary of the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development has launched a new project which will cause the building construction industry in Sri Lanka to move forward and take their game to the next level.
Sand is an essential raw material in the building construction industry. The extraction of sand from river valleys is usually done to fulfil this requirement. But such practices are detrimental as they are an already depleting mineral source. Addressing this issue, with hopes of minimising the harms on the environment, the SLLDC had started a project of distributing packets of readymade Sea Sand.
Accordingly, the Sea Sand packing plant at Kerawalapitiya was opened ceremoniously and these sand packets were distributed in the Western Province
yesterday (01) at 08.00 a.m. under the patronage of Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka.
Introducing this project to the media, Chairman of SLLDC Roshan Gunawardena proceeded to shed light on the journey they had embarked on to achieve this dream.
“This corporation has been providing sea sand as a substitute for river sand since 2006 but we used only natural means where we pumped the sand from the sea to our construction sites. The excess sand remaining after this process was washed with rain water several times it was proven through research that this sand is suitable to be used in construction. Then it was decided to sell this excess to the construction industry,” Mr. Gunawardena said.
He said in 2015, Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka recognised that the amount of attention given by the SLLDC for a project with such a potential,was inadequate.
“We realised that even though we had a great opportunity to produce and sell this sand, not even a 1% market share was available for this. This was due to the fear instilled in the people’s minds that sea sand was unsuited for construction purposes. Then we considered what actions should be taken to diminish this fear. At this point, Minister Ranawaka proposed that we should use machinery for washing and sieving of sea sand in order to provide people the opportunity to see the process with their own eyes and assure them of the quality of the product. Under his guidance we collaborated with the private sector company, REDECO Land Reclamation and Development Co. Ltd., to carry out the washing and sieving processes by machinery,” he said.
According to the ministry, these packets of sand which were distributed are certified by the Engineering Materials Testing Laboratory of the SLLDC, National Building Research Organisation (NBRO), Industrial Technology Institute and Faculty of Engineering at Katubedda-moratuwa. Moreover, they have achieved the standard certificate of the Sri Lanka Standards Institute (SLSI).
“All the constructions related to the Southern expressway so far, have been done using the sea sand
provided by SLLDC. Moreover, many buildings constructed by the SLLDC used this sand as well. Therefore people can use this sand without fear,” SLLDC elaborated.
SLLDC chairman said that though they had invested a large sum of Rs.400 million in this Kerawalapitiya project, they are optimistic that the project would generate a larger income in the future.
A n observation tour of the Kerawalapitiya site revealed that sand extracted from the sea is washed, sieved and filtered for quality control. Accordingly, several tippers carrying sand will load the sand onto conveyor belts where the sand will be sieved and sea shells removed.
Then the sieved sand is moved to the washing section where the sand is washed by large wheels using water, similar to the process in some washing machines. Moreover, rain water collected in the roof of their storage facility is used for this washing process.
Then a process consisting of a Silica Tank, an Active Carbon Tank and Membrane Filters is used to remove salinity in sand in their quality control process. Afterwards, further testing is carried out in their laboratories and finally, sand suitable for construction emerges. This process generates an additional income through sea shells which have a huge demand in the market as chick food.
Starting yesterday (1), this sand was distributed among several hardware stores in the Western province. Each packet of sand weighing 50kg each was to be sold to customers at a cost of Rs.220.
According to the chairman, SLLDC wishes to expand this project throughout the country in the future as it would benefit the people immensely.
In the construction industry, people are faced with many issues. Some of them are problems related to transport, inflation of price of sand, lack of storage facilities, wastage of resources, etc. Through this project, a majority of these problems can be solved.
In the market, currently the cost of one cube of sand is 18,000 Rupees. This sand must be transported incurring an extra cost. Moreover, sand at present can only be bought in wholesale quantities. This sand must be washed, sieved and prepared again incurring extra expenses. In addition due to lack of storage facilities, damages may occur due to rain. Due to these issues, experts said that about 30% of this sand can’t be used.
But using this ready-made sand ensures such wastage does not occur. Moreover, as sea sand is available in packets of 50kg, transport would be easy as even motorcycles can be used.
The General Manager of the REDECO Company, W.D.A.S. Perera said that this packet of sand contains 100% completely clean sand and due to this only the amount of sand needed can be bought instead of buying wholesale. Therefore, time, money and labour can be saved from the use of these sand packets.
Furthermore the chairman explained, this project helps conservation of the environment as sand extraction from river beds will be minimised. “Extracting sand from the sea is not problematic because the sea covers a large area and the environmental damage is therefore comparatively minimised,” he said.
“Today’s proceedings were very successful. Approximately 960 packets of sand were distributed. We believe that due to the ease of use and ecofriendly nature of this product, our customers would embrace this product and facilitate future expansion of this project,” the SLLDC chairman commented yesterday.
This corporation has been providing sea sand as a substitute for river sand since 2006 but we used only natural means where we pumped the sand from the sea to our construction sites
Minister Ranawaka proposed that we should use machinery for washing and sieving of sea sand in order to provide people the opportunity to see the process with their own eyes and assure them of the quality of the product