The Port City: A response to right of reply

In his right to reply ( The Sunday Times, December 3, 2017), the project director Colombo Port City, Nihal Fernando, said: “In general, air pollutants including particulate matters dispersion in the atmosphere from point, line, and area sources are mainly dependent upon the prevailing micrometeorological character of a region. Wind is an important factor which determines the dilution and dispersion of the pollutants. Since Colombo is situated on a flat terrain close to the sea, it helps disperse pollution over a larger area and this fact is well established in a number of scientific researches. “

Based on the above statement, can the EIA, SEIA or the Port City director Mr. Nihal Fernando inform the public that raising the profile of this flat terrain in front of Colombo will not impact the air quality of the city of Colombo? Will high- rise buildings not change the profile of the terrain? A basic flaw invalidates the whole argument. Should the Port City director not fund a public workshop on the best ways to ensure air quality is preserved in Colombo? We suggest the Colombo Municipality assist this project by taking baseline measurements of the major air pollutants through the city so that any increase can be monitored.

We are of the view that the flawed opinions presented invite a closer scrutiny of the assumptions presented in this ‘ Right to Reply’.

With respect to sea sand dredging, the Port City director states:

“As per the numerous statements made by Port City in the past, sand dredging is carried out in a completely sustainable manner at distances of over 7.5km from the shoreline, and at depths of 15m or more. The dredging has no impact on coastal erosion or livelihoods and the depth of dredging is limited to 3m from the surface of the seabed, and a thickness of sediment of at least 0.5m is maintained.”

Recent observations indicate:

The sediment at the Kelani river outfall has many organic and inorganic toxic compounds that comprise the upper sediment. Have there been any studies on the chemicals present in the sediment? The drift will be into the city of Colombo. Further removing the organic sediment load is similar to removing the topsoil of land. That is the zone where the highest nutrient loads remain, especially in warm tropical waters with no upwelling; the fishermen were concerned about this aspect, based on their experience though not able to articulate in a scientific manner.

We suggest a public discussion on important matters concerning health, well-being and livelihood of people affected by the Port City project.

The human rights violation caused by the loss of livelihood of coastal fishermen and the much publicised coastal erosion, since the commencement of large scale dredging for the Port City, was investigated by two Geneva-based NGO’s and their findings were reported to the Universal Periodic Review.( Sunday Observer November 19,2017).

With respect to Granite mining:

Granite is a finite resource on this small island of 25,333sq.miles with a population of about 22 million people -- same as Australia but 100 times smaller. This island’s finite granite supply will be needed by future generations too, for their infrastructure developments, hence is it ethical to dump 3.45 million cubic meters of granite in the sea, to construct a Port City? The much publicised highrise buildings to be constructed on it will require even more granite. In the Western Province many quarry owners have violated the terms of their licences to excavate larger quantities of granite for the Port City. Excessive granite quarrying lowers the water table, leading to a shortage of drinking water.

The increased use of explosives for quarrying large blocks of granite has inconvenienced residents living near quarries and is destroy- ing breeding habitats of fauna near quarries. Sri Lanka has the highest biodiversity in Asia and is considered a biodiversity hotspot. It is our national duty to preserve our flora and fauna endangered by excessive granite quarrying for the Port City project.

Is the Port City Project challenged by its technically inadequate Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) prepared by the University of Moratuwa?

According to universally accepted standards, researchers prepare an EIA choosing three separate sites, and decide on the best site with minimal preserved environmental damage. If this method was used:

Responsible policymakers would not have chosen this site opposite the densely populated city of Colombo where fine toxic PM2.5 and PM10 particles produced by Port City project, over its construction period of 15 to 20 years, would be carried by prevailing sea breeze and deposited over the city, causing a health hazard to the people;

Policymakers should not have chosen this site on health and safety grounds for the Government suggested work force of 83,000 people, as this is next to the transshipment Port of Colombo. As publicised by Chinese environmentalists, similar warnings were ignored by the Chinese government which built the Port City of Tianjin which exploded on 12-082015, resulting in massive loss of life and environmental damage. Will that be the fate of the Colombo Port City built adjacent to the expanding transshipment Port of Colombo?

The aim of the Port City project was to build a city in the sea but the EIA team selected did not include a marine biologist -- hence the impact of this project on the rich marine ecosystem around Colombo was not investigated.

Colombo has been a sea port for more than a millennia and an important marine archaeological site. The Department of Archaeology has stated that ancient cannons have been found on the sea bed at this site. This has not been mentioned in the EIA

Ground water table in the Colombo Fort area influenced by port city reclamation:

At a public lecture titled ‘ Is Colombo City safe?’, Dr. G. P. Karunaratne, an international land reclamation expert, stated that the mega 575.7 acre land reclamation for the Port City adjacent to the mainland Colombo, would cause alterations in the water table in the main land (Colombo Fort area) and result in the destabilisation of old buildings (historic buildings). Their foundations would need reinforcing to avoid collapse. Hence urgent damage investigation of old buildings was recommended. Dr. Karunaratne’s research was based on scientific evidence in Sri Lanka and abroad. Impact on Reclamation on Ground Water Level; ( J. J. Jiao et al, Ground Water, Nov- Dec, 2001Vol39,No5).

Recommendations

It now appears that the actual social, economic and environmental costs of the Port City project clearly outweigh the speculative benefits much publicised by project proponents and supporters. To avoid further loss, we suggest that this environmentally destructive project be terminated immediately. The reclaimed land be converted into an attractive park an essential air lung for the congested city of Colombo. It will be attractive to foreign income generating tourists and save our beaches from further erosion. It will enable our well-established coastal fisherman to resume their livelihood, providing cheap fresh fish essential protein, for the majority poor of our country.

The proposed International Financial City could be built on the mainland on a less environmentally destructive site and connected by speed rail to the Port of Colombo, using Chinese technology. This project will then be a true win-win project for all stake holders.

(I am most grateful for the support and encouragement given to me by Dr. Ranil Senanayake, Sajeewa Chamikara and Feizal Mansoor) Carmel Corea