By Ranil Senanayake –
Ranil Senanayake
The Port City project is a glaring example of how national resources are abused by politicians and the bureaucrats at the controls by treating it as their chattel. In doing international deals, the public (even those who might be directly affected) is never consulted, only ‘informed’ by the great leaders that, a deal has been done. The Port City project, which is now in the public eye, gives us an opportunity to comment. The EIA is open for public comment at many points; I examined the copy at the library of the Central Environment Authority (CEA), where there is also a book for comments. It will be in the public domain until the second week of January.
The document itself is very poor and lacks any mention of the impact on the Environment of Colombo. It deals with the dredging and filling operations without once mentioning that there is whole city that its operations will impact.
Not acknowledging that the city of Colombo will have to put up with breathing construction dust for twenty or so years, a gift to a generation of citizens with increased lung problems, nor the danger of flooding in Colombo due to the blockage of the Beira lake outfall has been addressed in this so called EIA.
But a real surprise was the fact that the developer has been awarded reclamation material at ‘zero cost’ where, the cost of the sand and even the Royalty that this nation would receive has been waived. No wonder the developer was so keen on expanding and expanding, we were giving him our land for free. To keep the story right we have to realize that it is a Chinese company we are dealing with here, not the Chinese Government. It is interesting to find out the current financial positions of those who dreamt up and approved the gifting of our revenue in such a cavalier manner.
Is our land and its resources the chattel of some power mad or money mad individual to give away at their whim? To make matters worse, they have also signed an agreement that would prevent any other Sri Lankan development from reclaiming within a 20 k.m radius of more than 20 ha within next 15 years. What will this do the Megapolis plans? What country can accept such opaque, illegal transactions as a legal contract?
There needs to be a proper analysis of this project and its impacts on the following should be submitted, if we are to move away from the crooked and corrupt past.
- Impact due to construction debris on the air quality of Colombo City.
- Impact due to sewerage disposal (according to the Concession Agreement, it is the responsibility of GoSL to provide the disposal arrangements
- Impacts due to the Water demand and Supply (according to the Concession Agreement, it is the responsibility of GoSL to provide the required water supply arrangements)
- Impact due to discharge of Solid Waste ((according to the Concession Agreement, it is the responsibility of GoSL to provide the disposal arrangements
- Traffic Impact Assessment due to the Port City operations, and capacity improvements to the existing road network (again, this responsibility has been assigned to the GoSL)
- Impact and carbon footprint of the energy required for the operation of this city.
In examining the list above it is obvious that we Sri Lankans are going to subsidize and support this new city. We are supposed to find solutions for their problems, when we cant even find solutions for our own.
There should be no activity on the Port City until these questions have been clarified and a comprehensive EIA has been filed. It should be only after this that a decision on the fate of the project could be made in an open, transparent manner.
Afzal / December 26, 2015
Let’s leave all this and go back to the bakki karathe, gon karathe and pol athu gewal ara. Man if u want develop some compromise has to be found. Sri Lanka is not the 1st or the only country reclaiming sea, we need to find a balance.
Port City is a landmark project in Sri Lanka, if these points are to be taken in to consideration no country in the world will be able to carry out large scale construction projects.
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Don Stanley / December 26, 2015
Thanks Ranil, great work! The port city should be demolished and those who conceived it and gave the green light to start it need to be held accountable and tried for corruption. The fact that this has not yet happened and Pathala Champika Meganpolis maniac is actually talking about the project going ahead shows the level of corruption in the A-Yahapalanaya Govt. of Sirisena and Ranil.
Time to stop wasting time and SHUT DOWN this project and hold Mahinda Jarapassa accountable and trace his millions in Bribes from the Chinese company.
Also EIA should have provided info. on
1. Implications of climate change and sea level rise and dangers of flooding and if this is factored into the analysis of how much rock and sand is needed for the so-called port city.
2. Where is the rock and sand to be sourced to build the port city? and what is the environmental impact of such massive rock and sand mining on the communities affected – supposedly in Gampaha – Basil Jarapassa’s former fiefdom? How much was Basil paid by the Chinese company for this project?
3. The So-called Colombo port project was corrupt from the beginning and no doubt Mahinda Jarapassa and his family of criminals got huge pay offs to speed up this financial and ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER called “Colombo port city DEVELOPMENT”. When the Jarapassa govt. was falling they seeded up the project so that it would become a FAIT ACCOMPLI and would continue even once the Corrupt and criminal Jarapassa govt. had fallen. That the EIA is not worth the paper is proof of the MEGA CORRUPTION involved and there should be an end to this and rather those who gave the green light for it should be PROSECUTED and their assets ceased.
The current filled area should be turned into a park.
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S.Modaya / December 26, 2015
Have the corrupt politicians of Lanka learned nothing from the expensive white elephants in Hambantot?
The Chinese airport and sea port in Hambantota is one of the reasons for the massive national debt, the tanking rupee and the IMF bailout?
The so called port mega city will be a massive FINANCIAL disaster and an environmental disaster given sea level rise and coastal erosion and cause a DISASTER to livelihoods and homes which will add to the national debt.
The Colombo Port City will cause an environmental and social disaster that will cause Sri Lanka’s economy to DEFAULT, the rupee will crash, and Lanka will be in a Greece like situation, caught between the IMF and the Chinese Dragon.
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JJ / December 26, 2015
Afzal, yours is a pretty puerile response!
You want to “compromise” the health and welfare of coming generations to satisfy some short-term financial gains – mostly for the politicians and business-people, as opposed to the country as a whole with our future generations in mind.
It’s not a matter of “large scale construction projects” being the problem, it is the gross dishonesty of those in charge of preparing an honest EIA that will inform all concerned of what the environmental implications are. We have had enough of the blatant lies and impunity that some politicians with power weild to fatten their personal fortunes at the expense of the country.
Thanks to those like Ranil Senanayake we are being informed of the problems and those trying to hoodwink the country are also on notice that their actions are being questioned and not ALL of us are shortsighted idiots!
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Afzal / December 27, 2015
Here is a notable land reclamation projects list from wiki, all these countries must have been so silly to do such things as early as 1870!
Hambathota port is white elephant, This is not.
A report says the Colombo Port City will add a new green area of approximately 45 ha, nine times the size of the Galle Face Green which is five ha. in extent, Chin Harbour Engineering Co. Ltd., the developer said last week.
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The creation of new land was for the need of human activities.
Notable examples include:
Large parts of the Netherlands
Much of the coastlines of Mainland China, Hong Kong, North Korea and South Korea. It is estimated that nearly 65% of tidal flats around the Yellow Sea have been reclaimed.[6]
Inland lowlands in the Yangzi valley, China, including the areas of important cities like Shanghai and Wuhan.[7]
Large parts of Rio de Janeiro, most notably several blocks in the new docks area, the entire Flamengo Park and the neighborhood of Urca
Parts of Dublin, Ireland
Most of Belfast Harbour and areas of Belfast, Northern Ireland
Parts of Saint Petersburg, Russia, such as the Marine Facade
Parts of New Orleans (which is partially built on land that was once swamp)
Parts of Montevideo, Uruguay, Rambla Sur and several projects still going on in Montevideo’s Bay.
Much of the urbanized area adjacent to San Francisco Bay, including most of San Francisco’s waterfront and Financial District, the Port of Oakland, and large portions of the city of Alameda has been reclaimed from the bay.
A part of the Hamad International Airport in Qatar, around 36 square kilometres (14 sq mi).
The entire island of The Pearl-Qatar situated in West Bay (Doha), Qatar.
Mexico City (which is situated at the former site of Lake Texcoco)
Parts of Panama City urban and street development are based on reclaimed land, using material extracted from Panama Canal excavations.
Helsinki (of which the major part of the city center is built on reclaimed land)
The Foreshore in Cape Town
The Chicago shoreline
The Northwestern University Lakefill, part of the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois
The Hassan II Mosque in Morocco is built on reclaimed land.
Barceloneta area, Barcelona, in Spain
Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts
Battery Park City, Manhattan
Liberty State Park, Jersey City
The port of Zeebrugge in Belgium
The southwestern residential area in Brest, Belarus
The Toronto Islands, Leslie Street Spit, and the waterfront in Toronto
Part of Nuns’ Island and all of Île Notre-Dame in Montreal
Most of Fontvieille, Monaco
Parts surrounding Port Hercules in La Condamine, Monaco
The airport peninsula, the industrial area of Cornigliano, the PSA container terminal and other parts of the port in Genoa, Italy
The Fens in East Anglia
Haikou Bay, Hainan Province, China, where the west side of Haidian Island is being extended, and off the coast of Haikou City, where new land for a marina is being created
The Cotai Strip in Macau, where most of the major casinos are located
Nagoya Centrair Airport, Japan
Incheon International Airport, Korea
*Beirut Central District, Lebanon*
Major parts of the city of Mumbai, India
The southern Chinese city of Shenzhen
The shore of Manila Bay in the Philippines, especially along Metro Manila, has attracted major developments such as the Mall of Asia Complex, Entertainment City and the Cultural Centre of the Philippines Complex.
*The city-state of Singapore, where land is in short supply, is also famous for its efforts on land reclamation.*
The Palm Islands, The World and hotel Burj al-Arab off Dubai in the United Arab Emirates
The Cinta Costera, in Panama City, Panama
The Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
The Eko Atlantic in Lagos, Nigeria.
The Potter’s Cay in Nassau, The Bahamas was connected to the island of New Providence
The shore of Nassau, The Bahamas especially along East Bay street.
Hulhumalé Island, Maldives. It is one of the six divisions of Malé City.
One of the earliest large scale projects was the Beemster Polder in the Netherlands, realized in 1612 adding 70 square kilometres (27 sq mi) of land. In Hong Kong the Praya Reclamation Scheme added 20 to 24 hectares (50 to 60 acres) of land in 1890 during the second phase of construction. It was one of the most ambitious projects ever taken during the Colonial Hong Kong era.[8] Some 20% of land in the Tokyo Bay area has been reclaimed,[9] most notably Odaiba artificial island. Le Portier, Monaco and Gibraltar are also expanding due to land reclamation. The city of Rio de Janeiro was largely built on reclaimed land, as was Wellington, New Zealand.
Artificial islands are an example of land reclamation. Creating an artificial island is an expensive and risky undertaking. It is often considered in places with high population density and a scarcity of flat land. Kansai International Airport (in Osaka) and Hong Kong International Airport are examples where this process was deemed necessary. The Palm Islands, The World and hotel Burj al-Arab off Dubai in the United Arab Emirates are other examples of artificial islands (although there is yet no real “scarcity of land” in Dubai), as well as the Flevopolder in the Netherlands which is the largest artificial island in the world.
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ctron / December 27, 2015
“”so silly to do such things as early as 1870! “”
you are silly lawyer and a sort of fanatic because you have not traveled and observed.
Herd of Dykes?
Holland/Netherlands is like a concave saucer and the country is below sea level.
The Dutch are the very best in the world at waterproofing.
they have being living there from inception. The worlds first multinational co-operation, the first European trading center before the Portuguese.
The first industrial nation (along with Flanders)of Europe.
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Afzal / December 27, 2015
Best is to keep quite in front of [Edited out]
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JJ / December 27, 2015
Afzal – You have pasted a lot of stuff to try to bolster your view, but you haven’t addressed the “problem” I mentioned, so I’ll reproduce it for you in the hope that you will address it instead on being irrelevant.
“It’s not a matter of “large scale construction projects” being the problem, it is the gross dishonesty of those in charge of preparing an honest EIA that will inform all concerned of what the environmental implications are. We have had enough of the blatant lies and impunity that some politicians with power wield to fatten their personal fortunes at the expense of the country.”
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / December 27, 2015
Posted below is very detailed and well illustrated report on the coastal la d reclamation project in Penang and particularly Penang Island. The text is easy to understand and point to need to be very cautious about the port city project .
Further, the impact of coastal land islands apparently need serious concern.
https://penangforum.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/penang-forum-issues-of-coastal-land-reclamation-in-penang.pdf
Dr.Rajasingham Narebdran
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Dr,Rajasingham Narendran / December 27, 2015
Find below a scientific study on the effect of construction of artificial harbors on the coast line. This study confirms the problems Dr.Ranil Senanayake highlights.
http://nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/123456789/10808/1/IJMS%2039(4)%20597-604.pdf
I hope and pray the government will give more weight to the long tern environmental concerns of Sri Lanka than the political and pecuniary issues with China.
Dr.RN
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Know All / January 1, 2016
Dr RN,
I share your sentiments but won’t hold my breath waiting for the government to ‘give more weight to the long term environmental concerns of Sri Lanka than the political and pecuniary issues with China’. As far as this project is concerned, the present mob are no better than MR’s lot. They are unable or unwilling to realise the effects (mostly negative) of this development. I do sympathise with the present government, however, to some extent. You cannot renege on formal agreements entered into by the previous regime with China or Chinese companies. And goodness knows how much SL courted the Chinese, partly to obtain her support at the UNHRC. But as even any unlettered vilager knows, all this support comes at a price, and when the day of reckoning comes, you don’t have much of a bargaining position.
As respondent Hamlet asks ‘For whom are we creating this Artificial Island?’
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Hamlet / December 27, 2015
For whom are we creating this Artificial Island?
Is it as a Tourist Attraction, or for improving the living standards of our own Poor Struggling People?
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Know All / January 2, 2016
Hamlet,
You are spot on.
‘For whom are we creating this artificial island?’ That is the first question that should be asked. As far as I can see, that question has not been sufficiently articulated nor satisfactorily answered.
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Amarasiri / December 26, 2015
Ranil Senanayake
“The Port City project is a glaring example of how national resources are abused by politicians and the bureaucrats at the controls by treating it as their chattel”
The value proposition is primarily for the politicians and the bureaucrats at the controls. Whatever flows beyond is for the people.
However, if it becomes a loss or a burden, it is the people who will have to foot the bill and the resulting expenses,
Example: Mattala airport.
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Abhaya / December 31, 2015
I agree with Afzal . it these moda rajas are you be followed we will go back to the stone age
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Dinuk / December 26, 2015
Sri Lanka needs a development policy that is based on technology Transfer, investment in CLEAN ENERGY, and solar energy. But the govt. is full of moronic Ministers with Mega Egoes and NO expertise in PEOPLE-CENTERED, Environmentally and socially appropriate development policy making.
There seems to be no Green Development Policy and no mainstreaming of Climate Change issues into development as apparent from the budget when Electric cars that are environmentally friendly and pollute less were taxed hugely.
Has Lanka learned nothing from the expensive white elephants in Hambantota – the Chinese airport and sea port which is one of the reasons for the massive national debt, the tanking rupee and the IMF bailout?
The so called port mega city will be a massive environmental disaster given sea level rise and coastal erosion and cause a DISASTER to livelihoods and homes which will add to the national debt. The Colombo Port City is going to be a MEGA DISASTER – both financial and environmental and if it goes ahead Sri Lanka’s economy will DEFAULT, the rupee will crash, and we will be in a Greece like situation, caught between the IMF and the Chinese Dragon.
Meanwhile the corrupt clown and insider trader has invited the Saudis to set up oil refining in Hambantota. Arjuna Mahendran at the CB has done this even though Hambantota is in the midst of a Health Disaster – with rise in respiratory illnesses and Kidney disease, due to increased water and air pollution due to the useless white elephant Chinese port and airport – also in the name of development.
Sri Lanka does not need yet another Chinese White Elephant in the name of development and EXTREME CONSUMPTION for a class of corrupt super rich political cronies of Mahinda Jarapassa and Chinese.
Ranil, Environmental organizations and civil society and residents of Colombo must unite to END this environmental and financial disaster in the making. We need people centered development of cities.
Colombo needs GOOD PUBLIC TRANSPORT – decent trains and buses and rapid transport. Mega ego Minister of the mega city should first focus on decent rapid transport for COLOMBO RESIDENTS AND COMMUTERS, rather than building Chinese White Elephants.
Also there is huge corruption in the Colombo Municipality which is systematically cutting down the old high canopy trees in Colombo city.
Look at Viharamahadevi Park and you see that there are no high canopy trees, only lots of small trees and all old large trees have disappeared. They claim that the trees fall. today in Colombo only in the Military Cantonment of Bullars road area the big trees are standing because the timber robbers in Colombo Municipality are afraid to cut down those trees in the military big wig areas.
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Crazyoldmansl / December 26, 2015
The CEA NEVER makes anthropocentric impact assessments. It assumes that projects do not have an impact on people and their lives.
The Colombo Port City will be a drain on support systems and will create a massive heat island.
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ctron / December 27, 2015
The sea is receding in the east of the island and its encroaching in the west – that’s Colombo. water table will rise as it is and the rain water will have to be pumped out into the sea that is rising.
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ctron / December 27, 2015
oldman jingo,
environmental impact – submit your comment to director general 30 days from 1/12/2015
link: gazette; 2 pages
http://www.coastal.gov.lk/images/stories/pdf_upload/public_notice/port_city_gazzette_en.pdf
ask him about storm water as the present storm water itself is insufficient.
i don’t live there and does not concern me.
if it rains hard even old England has floods and gas pipes blow up. you don’t have gas.
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justice / December 26, 2015
The loans obtained to build the port city at exorbitant rates of interest have to be paid back over next 30 years.
No government has the right to foist this on future generations.
Why is this regime so diffident on cancelling this project wholesale?
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punchinilame / December 26, 2015
If a Port City type of development is a must for Sri Lankas future, why
not acquire a land of 400 acs. north-west of Negombo, ideally a Coconut
Plantation and proceed with the same plan, minus a sea-front. The
night-mare of transport logistics will be catastrophic. This shift
will benefit the general population far better than the present set-up
for jobs within a City atmosphere.
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Hamlet / December 27, 2015
Why not build a city for the workers around the Highly successful MAS Holdings ‘Slimline’ Factory in Pannala. It would save the workers several hours of travelling up and down, and create a new Hub for Development, on a sustainable level.
Colombo is already bursting at the seams and more so called Development would only create more Traffic and Infrastructure Chaos!
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Yahapalanaya / December 26, 2015
Is there a way to find an electronic copy of the EIA? Who (Individuals) did the original EIA and the revised EIA. Has the consultants looked at the overall sand balance along the beaches, north and south of Colombo?
What about the impact to the aquatic life during the mining and construction period? Would there be an environmental monitoring team appointed during the construction and period beyond. Who is funding the Colombo’s water and sewage system improvement required to service the port city.
Has the 3-4 retention ponds constructed by Gota solved the flooding issue in Rajagiriya? If not why? Who was involved with the planning work?
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Jim softy / December 26, 2015
All over the world countries have developed artificial islands. It is not a new concept.
Why it is only in Sri lanka, if anything is done it becomes a big deal ?
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Hamlet / December 27, 2015
Jim Softy, have you seen the result of these ‘artificial islands’ on the environment?
The Whole World is experiencing Climate Change at the moment, all because of Disastrous Human Intervention in the Environment.
It is People like you and our Politicians, who can’t see beyond their own Instant Gratification, that are creating ‘Climate Change’ and ‘Global Warming’.
The Answer seems to be Population Control!
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Dude / December 27, 2015
The answer is blowing in the wind: – GREED CONTROL – Dude!
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silva / December 27, 2015
Rajapakshas spread, Chinese built Mattala – a complete disaster
Rajapakshas spread, Chinese built Norochcholai – a colossal waste and inefficiency (now they are going to transport by train coal from Trincomalee unloaded there from ships!)
Rajapakshas spread, Chinese built Hambanthota Port – a complete disaster
Rajapakshas spread, Chinese built …..
Rajapakshas spread, Chinese built …..
Rajapakshas spread, Chinese built …..
And Rajapakshas spread, Chinese started building Colombo Port City. Guess why!?
China never wanted to see this country a truly developed and independent country but a subjugate colony of China ever burned by debt and inefficient, never producing incomes projects like Hambanthota port. Every one of us is paying to China for the debts that were spent on projects without any return. China sank us down to the bottom of debt burden by those white elephant projects for which we will have to pay for the rest of our lives and broke our back bone. Why they started port city is very simple to understand which is to completely control the strategic nerve centers of our country and then in the region too! First they will extract the cream of profits in the maritime naval operations ultimately Colombo harbor will be a subsidiary of China, thereafter they will encroach other areas of exploitation. Buy why did they want an artificial land carved out of sand from sea in the heart of Colombo? It is because they cannot encroach on existing lands due to territorial claims by the government and the people-someday or other there will be a demand for them to vacate our land. So they came up with a cunning idea of creating an artificial island thinking we built this out of thin air and we can cling on to it as its creators! What a joke! It is our sand, our water, our oxygen and our environment, our electricity, our drinking water, our meagre resources that will be allocated for waste disposal, our environment and people will have to bear the costs!
I think this issue must be looked at in a different angle too. Is this newly created land really need and if so what for? What are the facilities that are intended to be built and operated there? Aren’t there alternative solutions like for example if the intended facilities are in categories like tourism, financial business, entertainment then it is quite possible to build a whole new city in a suitable existing land location with less strain on natural resources. But if it is for expansion of Colombo harbor operations then there is some logic in the proposal. In that case I suggest the construction work must take into consideration the future sea level rise and leave allowances like designing buildings which are capable of foregoing several feet in basements for adjusting to ground level change, anticipating future expansion of the land fill upwards to adjust to sea level rise and also making the entire construction tsunami proof if possible etc.
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Jim softy / December 27, 2015
Impact due to discharge of Solid Waste ((according to the Concession Agreement, it is the responsibility of GoSL to provide the disposal arrangements
If the above statement is acceptable, GLobal warming is good for Sri lanka.
when Jaffna goes under water, carbon foot print will go down because human activity is curtailed.
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ctron / December 27, 2015
simple they should a waste treatment plant to produce fertilizer.
If the dalits can do that as a charity at new delhi why aren’t the chinese doing it??
put it to the director general 30 days before 1/12/2015
http://www.coastal.gov.lk/images/stories/pdf_upload/public_notice/port_city_gazzette_en.pdf
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Punitham / December 27, 2015
There is a systemic fault in the country:
I have just bumped into another very scary environmental disaster in Jaffna Peninsula: this needs some very serious exploration: the Chairman of a new big hotel about to be opened next month(Jan 2016) is interviewed: he doesn’t talk about the Environmental Impact Assessment(EIA) of the project but ridiculed
i.the Urban Development Authority for making him cut the size from 12 storeys to seven storeys
ii.the Water Board for saying that it didn’t have enough water for the hotel as it didn’t have enough water for its citizens.
Any hotelier trying to come to Jaffna peninsula should note:
i.Assessment of Groundwater Resources in Jaffna Limestone Aquifer, M. Thushyanthy( Department of Agricultural Engineering University of Jaffna, Jaffna Sri Lanka) and C.S. de Silva (Faculty of Engineering Technology, The Open University of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka ). Tropical Agricultural Research Vol. 23 (2): 177 – 185 (2012), file:///C:/Users/PS/Downloads/4649-16553-1-PB%20(2).pdf
ABSTRACT. This study is centered on quantitative estimation of groundwater resources of a selected study area in a limestone aquifer, which is the main resource for agriculture, domestic use and water supply in Jaffna Peninsula. Inflow to the system includes groundwater recharge from precipitation and irrigation and outflow to the system includes lateral groundwater outflow and groundwater extraction. Results showed that the total average annual withdrawal from the study area (0.66 MCM) exceeded the total average annual recharge (0.57 MCM), implying that the system is in deficiency indicating unsustainable water withdrawal. A further recommendation is the establishment of an institution for a groundwater regulatory frame work to optimize the usage of groundwater and to arrest negative groundwater balance.
ii. Tamil and Sinhala engineers and geographers have been saying over the last 6/7 decades that the low water table of the peninsula is getting dangerously lower and lower.
We need to find the Authority that gave the permission to build the hotel and if the hotelier did any EIA in the first place.
CT, please allow for the benefit of the readers: http://www.ft.lk/article/495869/Jetwing-Jaffna-to-jump-start-northern-economy
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Hamlet / December 27, 2015
I agree Punitham.
Sri Lankans from the South who are used to lots of water, do not understand that a Luxury Hotel, needs to change Sheets and Towels Daily. Where is this Water coming from?
The people in Jaffna do not even have enough Drinking Water!
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ctron / December 27, 2015
there are many possibilities But the idiot Modi shot his mouth at Paris and is now begging. When he spoke it was SARC tea boy speaking.
eg the hotel could have dry urinals which are now a common feature.
hoteliers are there to make money so they would sell bottled water.
they should have adopted sustainable building standards/green tech- but the authority??
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Rahula / December 27, 2015
Make every new commercial building in Jaffna peninsula do rainwater harvesting and grey water recycling. They should only be approved if they the buildings are water independent.
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ctron / December 27, 2015
Punitham,
Remember the buffer for the bridge.
This is foundation ivy Cornell(Quaker)- there are top Brahmins over 90% PhD get in touch if you like clean water.
US scientists have developed a new polymer that has a unique capacity to remove pollutant substances from water “in seconds.” The discovery could revolutionize the water-purification industry, make the process cheaper, and involve minimum energy.
A team of researchers from Cornell University made the breakthrough. The full research has been published in Journal Nature this week.
“What we did is make the first high-surface-area material made of cyclodextrin [sugar molecules bound together in a ring],” said Will Dichtel, associate professor of chemistry, who led the research, “combining some of the advantages of the activated carbon with the inherent advantages of the cyclodextrin.”
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ctron / December 27, 2015
Punitham ,
polymer, cont:“These materials will remove pollutants in seconds, as the water flows by,” he said. “So there’s a potential for really low-energy, flow-through water purification, which is a big deal.” The polymer has already shown the “uptake of pollutants through adsorption at rates vastly superior to traditional activated carbon – 200 times greater in some cases,”says the press release of the university.
According to Dichtel, activated carbons don’t bind pollutants as strongly as the new polymer.
“We knew that [water filtering] would be a likely application if we were successful,” Dichtel says.“We were definitely pleasantly surprised with just how good the performance is.”
Dichtel hopes this new material can open ways to commercial water purification and also improve life in developing countries.
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / December 28, 2015
Cyclodextrin is indeed a revolutionary and timely breakthrough in water purification technology. Here is the link to what ctron has referred to above. My thanks to ctron.
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/2015/12/polymer-breakthrough-could-revolutionize-water-purification
Dr.RN
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shivanthi / December 27, 2015
A copy of the SEIA is available in the Coast Conservation website.
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sacre blieu / December 27, 2015
The evil that men do , lives after them. Those, whom the Gods want to distroy will first make them mad.
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Jamis Banda / December 27, 2015
Sure looks like someone sympathetic to the government is spending time on the thumbs down icons!
Could it be that ‘silent’ Presidential Media Unit?
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Prem / December 27, 2015
Jamis B – you could be right. Gives the buggers something to do!
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / December 28, 2015
I think so too. Very likely the Chinese contractor and operator.
Dr.RN
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Rahula / December 27, 2015
Its laughable to say “go back to the bakki karathe, gon karathe and pol athu gewal ara” if we shut down Port City. What kind of Banana republic would choose to vandalize its fisheries, granite mountains, and its largest cities historic beach front and bring Colombo to a halt with traffic, trash, sewage from Port City and also get sucked dry by power and water demands from Port City? Port city is just busy work for Chinese companies/ Chinese workers and bribes/business for a select few Sri Lankan’s . The Sri Lankan’s who approved this project should be tried for high treason for selling our Island to the Chinese to do what they want, without one concern for the health and security of ordinary Sri Lankan’s/wildlife and the environment they depend on for survival and quality of life.
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ctron / December 28, 2015
From the blues why did Xi at Paris favour `green concept`??
Shanghai is in a big soup; they cannot dig for basements as the water table has risen.
Many buildings next to excavations are collapsing
Next within 5 years there will be floods.
This is the original problem of Chinese culture of leaving things undone compared to western safety first and unwavering excellence.
Lanka will face the same as the flimsy toys they export.
Anything they do there are many hidden elements involving funds of course.
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The Professional / December 28, 2015
The land reclamation part of the port city was conceptualized in 2002 CESMA Plan. The recommendation then was not to create a city but to release land for expansion of the Central Business District of Colombo. A new city concept was discussed in 2010.
The project needs two EIAs: 1) EIA for land reclamation 2) EIA for developing the city on the reclaimed land. What has been released is the EIA for land reclamation. The Master Plan for the CITY is ready and I understand that the CECB has done a review at the request of the Chinese Developer. The images appearing in print media are of the Master Plan and on paper it looks a high tech type. Whether the Municipal Council of Colombo is capable of providing and maintaining the high standard amenities is a billion dollar question.
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