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The Newspaper of The Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka Vol. 47, No 07, July 2012 Registered at the GPO as a Newspaper No. QD/86 /NEWS/2011 Upper Kothmale Hydro Power Station commences commercial operations. by: Eng. R.S.W. Wagarachchi, Project Manager, Upper Kotmale Hydropower Project

t the auspicious time of forty five minutes past the hour of ten on Fourteenth day of July 2012, His Excellency Mahinda Rajapakse, the President of Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ceremonially commissioned the 150MW underground power plant of Upper AKotmale Hydropower Project. The Project comprising of 0.8 MCM live storage reservoir and 12.9Km long head race tunnel conveys water to the two 75MW Francis Turbines in an underground power cavern at Niyamgamdora located 22Km away from the reservoir at Talawakelle. The Head race tunnel of the Project is the longest tunnel ever constructed in Sri Lanka.

The history of the much awaited power plant goes back decades and the implementation was delayed due to immense pressure from different political, social and environmental groups. With consensus, agreements, court decisions etc. the objective of the Project was achieved and the Project became a reality entirely on tireless efforts of officials of Project Staff and also the commitment of the officials of other related organizations. Portrait of the Immediate Past President, It is not a secret that project has implemented a comprehensive Eng. (Prof) A.K.W.Jayawardane unveiled Resettlement Action Plan he portrait of Eng. (Prof.) A.K.W.Jayawardane – which has definitely uplifted Immediate Past President, IESL was unveiled at a the living standards of the Tsimple ceremony held at the Council Room of the IESL affected community. on 12th July 2012 in the presence of Past Presidents and The Project has improved Council members. Eng.(Prof.) Jayawardane himself was 33Km length of “B” class present, accompanied by his immediate family. Introducing road connecting Talawakelle Eng.(Prof.) Jayawardane, the Executive Secretary, IESL, Eng. to Thawalantenna including Arundathi Wimalasuriya traced his gradual ascension from other access roads utilized his first involvement with the Council in the 1994/95 when he by the Project. The was elected to represent the class of members, to his finally townscape of Talawakelle has changed dramatically. The reservoir located in the heart of the city has increased the beauty of the Contd. on page 6... IESL holds Special Workshop on ‘Engineers to enhance the value of “The Engineer”' Will it mark a turning point for IESL and its members? holding the mantle of The Institution of Engineers ‘Unfair criticism or for that presidency in the 2010/11 Sri Lanka matter criticism for the sake session. Eng.(Dr.) Ananda of criticism, without being 120/15, Wijerama Mawatha, Ranasinghe, incumbent constructive, against the 7, Sri Lanka. President of IESL in his Engineer by fellow engineers speech paid a glowing tribute Tel: 2685490, 2698426, 2699210 is self-destructive to the to Eng.(Prof.) Jayawardane Fax: 2699202 entire body of engineers. for his contributions to the E.mail: [email protected] / [email protected] The often heard complaint institution and for the general of IESL members “ …… Website: http://www.iesl.lk uplifting of the profession and IESL doesn’t look after it’s to the engineering education membership and therefore in the country. In this Issue we visit IESL only to renew our membership” or the Get To Know the IESL . frequently quoted Provincial Chairmen...... 3. Editorial...... 4 Contd. on page 6.... Contd. on page 6.... Unsafe Bridge in Talawakelle...... 5 Sri Lanka Engineering News - July 2012 2 IESL NEWS FORTHCOMING Get To Know the IESL Provincial ANNUAL EVENTS CALENDAR Chairmen - 2012 he IESL has a membership exceeding 15,000 dispersed all over the island. TheIESL Provincial Centres which carry out many member services in the provinces provide Event Dates Tthe much needed connectivity to its members in the provinces by organizing courses, ♦Induction and Graduation Ceremony Saturday – seminars, workshops, field visits etc. for their continues professional development. They August 18, 2012 also organize community programmes such as infrastructure improvements to least developed schools in the provinces, relief work in case of disasters etc.for interaction of its ♦Dr. Ray Wijeyewardene Memorial Monday - members with the public.These programmes are initiatives of the Executive Committees Lecture August 20, 2012 headed by the Chairman of each Provincial Centre. The May 2012 issue of your newsletter ♦E O E Pereira Memorial Lecture Thursday – introduced the Chairmen, IESL Provincial Centres who are at the helm of three of the September 13, centres in Central, Northern and Eastern Provinces. In this issue we introduce the Chairman, 2012 IESL North Central Provincial Centre. ♦D J Wimalasurendra Memorial Monday Lecture September 17, Eng. R.M.J.N.Ratnayaka 2012 Chairman, IESL, North Central Province ♦Techno Exhibition Friday–Sunday Chartered Civil Engineer by profession, Eng. October12-14, R.M.J.N.Ratnayaka graduated from the Faculty of 2012 Engineering, in 1994. He ♦Inauguration of the Annual Sessions Friday – joined the Road Development Authority in 1995. October 19, He gained his Chartered Engineer status from the 2012 IESL in year 2000.He has held the posts of ♦Annual Sessions Seminar Saturday – Executive Engineer, Nalanda – RDA from 2002 to October 20, 2007, Chief Resident Engineer, Kinniya Ferry 2012 Bridge from 2007 to 2009 and assumed duty as ♦Annual Field Visit Sunday – Chief Engineer Padeniya – Road October 21, Project in 2009. Currently he is holding the post of 2012 Chief Engineer, RDA – MFAP Division ♦Presentation of Technical papers Monday- (Miscellaneous Foreign Aided Projects). Wednesday Under his chairmanship the IESL, North Central Province has organized and successfully October 22, 23 conducted several CPD Activities for its members - A presentation on “Southern Express & 24, 2012 way”- by Eng. G.S. Chandralal- Additional Project Director- STDP-RDA, a ♦Presentation of Technical Papers Thursday - presentation on “Construction Safety” by Eng. Padmasiri Narayana- Labour Dept.,a by Young Members October 25, presentation on “Arbitration & Adjudication” by Eng. Frankly- Irrigation Dept, a 2012 presentation on “Communication Skill Development through Toastmaster Club”`, a presentation on “Energy Conservation and Future Energy Crisis in the World and ♦Dr. A N S Kulasinghe Thursday – Memorial Lecture October 25, How to Meet the Challenges by Yong Engineers”by Dr. Thilak Siyambalapitiya, a commentary on Modern Irrigation System Vs Ancient Irrigation Wisdom- by Chairman 2012 CECB, Chairman ICTAD, Engineer In- Charge – Victoria Power Project. ♦Annual General Meeting Saturday – October 27, 2012 ♦Techno Awards Ceremony Friday – Induction & Graduation Ceremony 2012 November 02, The ceremony will be held on August 18, 2012 at the Waters Edge, Battaramulla 2012 at 5.00 p.m. Chief Guest : Prof. Susirith Mendis – Vice Chancellor of Note: Guest of Honour: Eng. R W R Premasiri, Secretary, Ministry of Ports & Highways. Associate Members who wish to apply for the The following awards will be conferred at this ceremony. Professional Review, are strongly advised to attend Fellows 06 all Memorial Lectures and keep a record of the Chartered Engineers 240 attendance for any future reference. IESL Graduands 17 JIY Winners 05 EVENT PHOTOS OF THE EASTERN PROVINCIAL CENTRE CPD Programs by the Eastern Provincial Centre he CPD lecture series of the IESL Eastern Centre crosses over a new horizon in that, unlike in the past, top level resource persons are now being sourced from all over the island and the TCPD lecture series is being held in the East itself. This milestone was achieved with the facilitation of the IESL Headquarters in Colombo with the assistance of the staff of the Education and Training Division. Out of the three proposed courses the first CPD course was held at the Regional Director of Irrigation office Auditorium, Batticaloa on 13.07.2012 from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm on the topic, “Time Management” by Dr. (Eng) Jayalath Edhirisinghe, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Engineering, University of Peradeniya. Thirty eight participants attended this magnificent session in which the lecture contents and method of presentation provided real value for the time spent by the Engineers at this session. The heart felt gratitude expressed to Dr.Jayalath Edhirisinghe at the end of the session by the participants was not confined within the bounds of the educational value that the session provided, but also for the effective communication that he achieved through some interesting games and group activities during the lecture. Sri Lanka Engineering News - July 2012 IESL NEWS 3 Sri Lanka Engineering News - July 2012 4 IESL NEWS

A public lecture on “Reaping globally from your hard earned ICT-expertise: A simple winning strategy in the knowledge economy.”delivered by Eng. Nihal Kularatna -FIET (Lond.), Senior Sri Lanka Member IEEE(USA), FIE(Sri Lanka), MIPENZ, was held at the Wimalasurendra Auditorium of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka on 22nd May 2012. Eng. Kularatna is an electronics Engineering News engineer with 35 years of experience in Aviation, Telecommunications & Research Environments and the author of 7 internationally published books in electronic engineering subjects. A former CEO of Arthur C Clark Institute for Modern Technologies (ACCIMT) in Sri Lanka, Nihal Kularatna Engineering scapegoats is currently active in research in supercapacitor applications, power supply topologies, transient propogation and power conditioning area. He has contributed over 70 papers to international ri Lanka is currently undergoing one of the driest journals and conference proceedings and is a holder of several patents including a recent US periods in its recent history. The inflow to the patent granted in 2011 for his work on super capacitor based efficiency improvement in DC SHydro power reservoirs during the last 12 months power supplies. commencing from June 2011 has been only 2120GWh whereas the annual average has been well over He is presently employed as a Senior Lecurer in the School of Engineerin, University of Waikato, 3000GWh. The inflow during the first six months of this New Zealand and is currently on a short visit to ACCIMT as Visiting Professor. year has been a mere 704 GWh, again the lowest in The public lecture was organized by the IT & Communications Sectional Committee of the IESL our records. Both monsoons of last year have failed under the chairmanship of Eng. Sanath Panawennage – Director & CEO, Arthur C Clark Institute and so is the South West Monsoon of this year. Our for Modern Technologies. The following is an abstract of the lecture: rainfall patterns are becoming more and more erratic, hinting at changes to local and global climatic patterns. Due to the shortage of water, a large extent of paddy was lost this year. However, what is most disturbing is Reaping globally from your hard earned the way certain quarters of the public react to the situation placing the entire blame for it on the Officials ICT-expertise: A simple winning (“n,OdÍka”). Farmer protests staged in a number of districts are targeting the so called “Officials” whom they strategy in the knowledge economy. claim are not providing them with sufficient water, a commodity that is non-existing. Some accuse that n areas related to electronics and communications, engineering knowledge half life is a officials have released water unnecessarily on the pretext mere 3 to 5 years today. As predicted by the Battelle forecast in USA, ten strategic of flushing away silt while still others are accusing that technologies after year 2020 will be omnipresent;computing, nano-machines, super–senses, the officials have not de silted the tanks on time making I intelligent appliances, personalized transportation systems, safe water, green integrated the storage capacity of the tanks to come down. technology, high energy packages and designer-crops. Integrated planning and operation of Water Resources in Sri Lanka is done in a very methodical way. It is mainly If the ICT community in Sri Lanka is passionate about developing their careers, keeping this thanks to this dedicated group of Engineers behind this global picture in mind, their local careers can help them reap global benefits. We have the meticulous planning process that the country could even wrong view that “technology” resides in high tech boxes we use and manage in ICT come at least this far without power cuts or a major environments. In contrast, we should believe that the technology is a set of creative products food crisis. A panel of Engineers, referred to as the of the human brain power. In this process are we ready to be detailed minded, or, are we “Water Panel” representing the Ceylon Electricity Board going to perish by becoming mere end users of “modern-technology”? (CEB), the Mahaweli Authority, the Irrigation Department and the Water Board meets weekly at the Water Given this scenario, a young ICT engineer should recognize the first 5 years of the career as Management Secretariat to decide on the operation of the most valuable formative time. If one acquires solid hands-on engineering opportunities all the reservoirs during the forthcoming week. They that can make you a true-professional in the longer run, that person will be comfortable in carefully review the “Seasonal Operating Plan” (SOP) handling or designing any new system or even a technology masterpiece. From day one of prepared at the beginning of each cultivating season your engineering career, you must consider that the education does not mean only a and decide on the quantities of water that should be qualification acquisition process, but it should be treated as a life long learning activity. In released for Irrigation, Hydro Power Generation etc. for this life long activity, a good ICT professional should consider acquiring a diverse set of the next week. They base their decisions on a number skills, with applicability in the practical domain. Sometimes one should be brave enough to of computer based models used by the operation switch fields, and learn new skills and gain applicable knowledge, than merely waiting for planners of the CEB and the engineers of the Water only the seniority in the work places. Management Secretariat. Research and Development at a global scale has made the knowledge economy moving fast The extent of cultivation of paddy and other crops is forward. Countries such as Sri Lanka should place a strong emphasis on “r &D” where, more decided on and included in the SOP, considering the resources of your professional life should be on development than primary research, which quantity of water stored “at hand” in the reservoirs at demands far too large resources-set. Learning from the local needs, and identifying the the beginning of a cultivating season and forecasted economic scenarios, our own local environment could easily lead us to great design- inflows to them under different hydrological conditions. development opportunities. If you grab them, and use international measures to benchmark Sadly however, often this predetermined ratio of paddy your local achievements, it is not difficult to reap global benefits. to other crops is grossly violated by farmers. When the amount of water drawn is more than what was allowed, In your r& D or professional environments, it is necessary to identify the value of publishing particularly when the inflow has been lower than what your achievements and let the wider-world give you critique. When you attempt to write, you was anticipated as is the case this year , the troubles tend to think of your achievement critically and compare it with other people’s published begin and the Government Officers are blamed for the work. This guarantees you to be a critical thinker, and look at the rest of the world through outcome. The very group of people who violated their other published works. This will help you to overcome the engineering knowledge half life own water allocation now gets on to the streets and the issue. A positive minded senior mentor, with sympathy ( for your mistakes), can act as a blame game begins, ably assisted by selfish politicians. guide to help your longer term career to be a successful one. If that advantage is there, make sure that you will be grateful to the mentor. Never enter into human politics in the This situation is not much different in the power sector. Asian world, and that will waste your career and other’s too. Despite repeated requests from Engineers of the utility and the IESL, successive governments hesitated to give Creativity element is another wining factor, particularly in the ICT areas. These opportunities the green light for Coal Power generation. In order to fill come with longer-term critical observations, and also by looking at the work in a problem the vacuum created by Coal, the CEB had to resort to solving mode. If one couples this with continuous detail minded hard work, you could be a private Oil based thermal generation, once again global winner! drawing the blame for doing just that! This sad cycle of blaming by only looking at the outcome Undergraduate Inventor of the Year and not at its root cause continues in our country unabated. Most of those at the receiving end are our own members. (UIY) Competition – 2012

There is a Sinhala proverb that says that the mother The IESL invites applications for the above competition from undergraduates and the sky get blamed for everything no matter what. of , University of Peradeniya, University of Ruhuna Thus unless we ensure that we do not become and The Open as per guidelines posted in the IESL scapegoats, the latest addition to this two some could website www.iesl.lk. be the poor Engineer. Students must submit their inventions to the Deputy Executive Secretary IESL by the deadline which has been extended upto 25th August 2012. Lakshitha Weerasinghe, Editor [email protected] Sri Lanka Engineering News - July 2012 IESL NEWS 5

Original News Item reproduced from the 'Daily News' of 16th July, 2012 IESL holds Training Programme under Washington Accord Guidelines

Training Programme on Out Come Based Education and Accreditation as per Wash Aington Accord guidelines was held at the IESL on 25th, 26th and 27th June 2012.Resource Per- son for the course was Prof. Dr. Wan Hamidon Wan Badaruzzaman, Associate Director, Engineering Ac- creditation Departmentt, Engineering Accreditation Council, Board of Engineers, Malaysia. The IESL is currently a provisional member of the Washington Accord and is hoping to have full membership very soon. The full membership of the Washington Ac- cord ensures that graduates passing out in Sri Lanka with accredited degree programmes are rec- ognized as academically fully qualified engineers to practice engineering in any signatory country of the Washington Award. The IESL has made signifi- cant progress in this regard, revising the IESL ac- creditation instrument in line with the Washington Accord exemplars, providing training to accredita- tion panel members and to university academics developing more efficient systems and strengthen- ing the IESL Accreditation Board. This Training Programme is a part of the above scope of activi- ties and was attended by large number of partici- pants from universities all over the island.

CEB Replies UNSAFE BRIDGE IN TALAWAKELLE

Pedestrain Bridge was Designed and Installed across the Kotmala Oya closer to the Middleton Bazaar (Malliappu) at Talawakelle. This bridge replaced a very unsafe A suspension bridge that had existed for a longtime which was in an extremely dilapidated condition and was used by large number of pedestrians with serious safety concerns to the users. This bridge was replaced by a steel bridge designed by the Contractor which was checked by our Consultant Engineers. I attach three pictures of this bridge.

An article about the safety of this bridge appeared on Monday July 16, 2012 in the Ceylon Daily News under the above caption with a picture showing this newly constructed bridge. The writer seems to be an Engineer passed out from the Engineering Faculty of University of Peradeniya in 1999 by the name of one Roshan Dodanwala. He claimed he had discussed with a group of their own and highlights certain design deficiencies in the said article. As the Project Director , I have initiated action to obtain a clarification from the Consultant on the concerns addressed in the article and for a design review. If indeed any corrective action need to be taken as suggested by this group of engineers, it will be promptly attended to. What is of concern to me is, if the writer is an Engineer, he should have had the courtesy to direct the question to us in the CEB who was responsible for this construction, so that his concerns could be properly addressed by Engineers. The writer has taken the liberty (I do not deny his right for public expression) to publish an article in the Ceylon Daily News in the Column named ‘Citizens’ Mail Column’ which should obviously be concerned with problems of common interest. In this instance the matter deals with the design and should be of interest and concern to engineers who designed and constructed this bridge. Therefore, it should have been far better, if the writer is an Engineer either to write to CEB, Consulting Engineer or even the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka before going public, to clarify this issue in the best interest of Engineers without going public straight away. I am writing this letter with the hope that all our Engineers should be as concerned as this group of engineers, but would use utmost caution in safeguarding the professional integrity of our own engineers.

Eng. W J L S Fernando Project Director (Upper Kotmale Hydropower Project ) and Additional General Manager (Projects) Ceylon Electricity Board Sri Lanka Engineering News - July 2012 6 IESL NEWS

Assistant Governor of Central Bank Contd. from page 1... delivers Special Lecture on “Current IESL holds Special Workshop.... Economic Situation in Sri Lanka”

he Assistant Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Mr. K.D Ranasinghe delivered a special lecture on “Current Economic Situation in Sri Lanka” on TMonday, June 25th, 2012, at 5.00 pm at the Wimalasurendra Auditorium of the IESL. The Continuing Professional Development Committee of the IESL had arranged this event in view of the prevailing situation where optimism that flowed from the ending of the war and the burst of economic activities that followed appears to have been shaken in recent times by events conflictingly interpreted by experts. On the one hand, issues such as the depreciation of Sri Lanka Rupee, increase in the price of essentials, slide in the share market, low foreign direct investments in the country, etc. are being portrayed as weaknesses in the economic situation. On the other hand the country’s economic growth figures of more than eight percent consecutively for the past two years reported by the Central Bank and the consequent increase in the Gross Per Capita Income is said to have pulled out Sri Lanka from the ranks of low income countries to the ranks of middle income countries of the world. The flood of conflicting opinions thrown at the general public is, to say the least, confusing. Laying out the facts without decorations of partisanships, the organizers hoped, would allow the public to discern the true causes of the sacrifices they are invariably called upon to make.

Mr. Ranasinghe who is an Assistant Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has joined the Central Bank in 1986 and has served at various capacities including Director of Economic Research, Senior Economist, Deputy Director and Additional Director of the Economic Research Department. He obtained his Masters Degree in Economics from Michigan State University, USA and Bachelors Degree in Economics from the . His research interests are in the fields of public finance, economic growth, investment and inflation. He has published several research papers in these areas.

The core message he conveyed in this lecture was that the country had performed well in all sectors since the war was brought to an end in May 2009 and that it was only towards end of year 2011 that certain imbalances in the economy appeared due to expansion of credit beyond observations by leaders in the industry, who are expectations. He stressed that counter measures taken by the government, including more sometimes engineers themselves, that “ …. ‘Young flexible foreign exchange policies, restriction of credit, increased import taxes on motor vehicles, Engineers’ of today don’t take responsibilities in the etc would in the long run restore the balance. As positive aspects he pointed out the more than manner that the’ Senior Engineers’ did during their time, 8 percent GDP growth rate the country has had for the two consecutive years, 2010 and 2011, are among those in the said context. Similarly, ‘lack of the Gross Per Capita Income reaching more than 2000 US Dollar, the inflation being reduced to knowledge’,’ poor dedication’ and ‘unethical behavior’ are single digit, unemployment being at historical lows, the Tourism industry picking up, Government also some of the labels with which some engineers are Debt to GDP ratio being healthy, etc. On the negative side he said that of late the undesirable sidelined and allowed to stagnate. Shouldn’t IESL be credit expansion and the necessity to preserve the parity rate of the Rupee has had a run on viewed as the best suitable professional body to correct the Foreign Reserves and caused temporary balance of payments problems. “the Engineer”. It’s in the hands of the engineers; The question and answer session proved lively with many in the audience questioning the especially those who are leaders in the industry, various forms of foreign loans obtained by the government, the foreign loans component of the acadamics in universities and those who serve in their foreign reserve of the country, the logic in holding large foreign reserves without re-investment personal capacities as consultants to direct the IESL them and the role of the International Monetary Fund in recent increases in the prices of and its Secretariat to be organized to do so.’– Eng, (Maj) electricity supply and the depreciation of the . Nishsanka Wasalabandara, Chairman – Civil Engineering Sectional Committee, IESL. Mr. K.D.Ranasinghe was presented a memento in appreciation of his delivering the lecture. The Civil Engineering Sectional Committee (CESC), jointly with the Continuing Professional Development Committee

Contd. from page 1... Talawakelle town giving (CPDC), with the blessings of the Council, organized a opportunity for recreation workshop in the form of an activity for “Industrial activities. “Upper Kothmale... Liaison” as an initiative to convey the above message The motto of the Project “Environment and Development to all those parties and to record their opinion as to how in Harmony, for Economic to enhance the services of IESL to its membership. It Prosperity of the Nation”, was kept was held at the IESL on 9th July 2012 with top level in mind throughout the Project participation as resource persons and members of the and the Project has taken all audience. The opening formalities like national anthem, measures to protect the lighting of the traditional oil lamp and the welcome environment. From the project address by Eng. (Dr.) Ananda Ranasinghe were followed affected St. Clair waterfall to the by presentations by the Immediate Past President – IESL Project affected rare species of a Eng. (Prof.) A.K.W.Jayawardane and Resource Persons, Snail were given due consideration and proper care Eng. N.Rupasinghe – Chairman, CECB, Eng. S. A under Environmental Karunaratne – Managing Director, STEMS Consultants Management Plan. (Pvt,) Ltd.,Eng. S.Jeyachandran – General Manager, The key success of a project of State Engineering Corporation and Eng. W.J.L.S this nature is the team effort of Fernando – Chairman, Continues Professional the Project staff. Development Committe, IESL.Eng.S.Rutheralingam and Eng. Sarath Gamini both of whom were unable to attend Contd. from page 1.... had dispatched their messages to be presented by the Portrait of the .... Acknowledging the honor organizers by way of written texts and voice cuts bestowed on him Eng.(Prof.) respectively during the presentations. The discussions Jayawardane described the that followed the presentations were chaired by Eng. (Dr.) many challenges that he was Tilak Siyambalapitiya.Eng. Tilak De Silva – President able to successfully meet Elect, IESL made the concluding remarks to the event during his tenure and while the vote of thanks was delivered by Eng. expressed his desire to Wasalabandara, Chairman , CESC. continue serving the IESL and the profession. He took the A detailed report on the objectives and outcome of the opportunity to thank everyone workshop is being compiled by the CESC, the organizers who helped make his tenure a of the event. Eng. Nishsanka Wasalabandara, Chairman, success. CESC has requested SLEN that his thanks be conveyed to all those who participated and made the workshop a Eng.(Dr.)Ananda Ranasinghe, success. ‘ President, IESL unveiled the portrait. Sri Lanka Engineering News - July 2012 IESL NEWS 7 Sri Lanka Engineering News - July 2012 8 IESL NEWS

Letter from Qatar Lusail City is Qatari Diar’s flagship Project - One of Largest Commercial Projects in Middle East by : Eng. M. Chandrasekera / 18th June 2012 n late March, quite unexpectedly, I got an I opportunity to move to Qatar and to work in one of the sub Projects under Lusail Development Project, which I have briefly described below.

Currently, the landscape in the area we work is as seen in the top part of the 1st picture. When you see the bottom part of the same picture, you will be able to visualize the scale of transformation Quatrains are going to bring about in the coming ten years to this patch of desert. The water ponds shown in this view are all barren land without any habitation at present. 1.- Artist’s View of future Lusail City Lusail City is Qatari Diar’s With an overall budget of £30 flagship project. billion, the project will create a world class city over the next More than just another ten to fifteen years. It was development, it is a self- launched by His Excellency contained and Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin comprehensively planned city Jabor Al Thani, the first deputy signifying Qatar’s progress on prime minister and foreign a grand scale. minister of Qatar, and Created by Lusail Real chairman of Qatari Diar in year Estate Development 2007. Company on behalf of Qatari Benefits to society Diar, Lusail City is the largest single development (spread in The aim of the development is an area of 38 square km) to to provide a high quality, well be undertaken in the State of planned and sustainable Qatar. It embodies Qatar’s extension of the city, attractive National Vision 2030 in the to tourists, future residents 2-One of the many Sites (note the number of tower cranes. There are hundreds of field of real estate tower cranes all over) and businesses. The project Contd. on page 9... development. as a whole will generate More than 200,000 residents significant economic will live in Lusail’s scenic diversification and strengthen surroundings, with 170,000 the tourism sector, which in people expected to work in the turn will create great city’s different districts, and opportunities within Qatar. 80,000 expected to visit its entertainment and recreation Infrastructure Packaging facilities. Lusail City’s 19 districts will encompass not For bidding purposes, the only new residential, deliverables for the Lusail commercial, hospitality, and Development Project are retail opportunities, but a full divided into construction array of community needs packages: such as 36 schools, • Primary mosques, State-of-the-art infrastructure (12 packages) hospital, 2 golf courses, large o 21.5 km of roads and blue water lagoon with two highways, including 12 marinas (harbour specially bridges and five underpasses designed to cater to the needs o 39.5 km of pipes for of pleasure boats and their potable water and firefighting owners), naturally functional o 34.1 km of storm silt-free beaches, water drainage (in case there entertainment and shopping is rain!!) and five pumping centers etc. stations o 36.8 km of irrigation The city of the future boasts channels (for watering of a light rail network, a water grass tops and plants!!) taxi transportation system, o 518,000 m² of hard cycle and pedestrian network. landscaping and 409,000 m² Construction work on the 38 of soft landscaping square kilometer, progressive o 40.5 km of 66-kV cables world-class development is and 69.9 km of 11-kV cables well underway. o Three 66/11-kV substations Lusail City is where the Art of and twelve 11/0.4-kV Real Estate comes to life and substations best illustrates the values and o 1,048 lamp posts commitment to the o 42.4 km of communities served by Qatari telecommunications cables Diar. o 14 km of utility tunnels Sri Lanka Engineering News - July 2012 IESL NEWS 9

Contd. from page 8... cannot get the laws twisted by Lusail City..... offering something to politicians or officials. Marine earthworks and site • Politicians or other VIPs are preparation not to be seen on the (1 package) worksites or on the roads. • Underground car parks (1 There are no outdoor public package) functions either. Sewage treatment plant and • Other than in the DOHA networks (1 package) shopping streets, very rarely To date, substantial you will see any pedestrians. infrastructure work has been There are well built bus accomplished at Lusail City. shelters but I never saw any person waiting for buses at Serving as a Model for these shelters. You do not see Sustainability any office workers or school Through environmentally children on the roads in the responsive protection policies mornings or afternoons. and a controlled development 3-Re bar placing for a pile cap in one of the bridges Another notable absentee are strategy, Lusail City will the policeman. Very rarely you generate significant economic According to above create waterways and The 3rd, 4th and 5th pictures find policemen on the roads. diversification as it strengthens statistics, £30 billion will ponds. Initially, I could not will give some idea of the However, almost all the drivers Qatar’s tourism sector, provide a city of 200, 000 come to terms with this work we are doing. follow the traffic rules. residents, 170, 000 working transforming existing raw tidal reality. The third picture shows re The soil in here is calcareous. population and 80,000 flats into a valuable product Contractors and Consultants bar placing for a pile cap. Bed rock is limestone. There visitors. On a very crude that highlights sustainable from many countries are Fourth Picture shows piling is absolutely no fertility in this calculation, this will work features such as: working here. The labour @ night and the last picture soil. Hence, not even grass is out to a per capita cost of gangs are mainly from shows the artist’s view of one grown. One cannot find at •Energy and water least worms, ants or a conservation ‘binkunda’ in this soil. There •Indoor environmental quality are no stray animals (at least •Co-generation ·Renewable a single dog), rodents, energy cockroaches or nuisance birds • Alternative transportation like crows and bats either. •Reduced trucking distance Usual working time is from 7 •Reuse of construction spoils am to 6pm. Only Friday is the for fill weekly holiday. Currently we are going In June 2010, Lusail Real through the hot summer with Estate Development Company day time ambient temperature (LREDC) implemented its new above 45 degrees centigrade. method for rating green There is a mandatory work buildings: the Qatar break between 11.30 am and Sustainability Assessment 3.30pm during this time. As System (QSAS). This the day time work is not procedure, developed productive, we have obtained specifically for Qatar, ensures special approval to work at that all commercial, residential, 4- Piling Work @ Night (in all there were 384 piles of 800 and 1000 mm dia. The nights. and school projects in Lusail Piles were completed at the rate of 8-10 per day) City follow the defined Rs. 12 million. Could we Sri Bangladesh, China, and of the suspension bridges It is a real challenge to work requirements to receive QSAS Lankans ever imagine such Nepal. In our Project, we under construction. in an alien environment for two certification. years for a grey haired person a huge investment? All this have Koreans leading, then However, I must say that Hosting World’s Most is possible due to wealth Filipinos, Indians and a few like me. However I enjoy it, these people have very Notable International since I am in the middle of the Quatrains have Sri Lankans. stringent laws on health, Tournament different cultures and in an amassed by selling natural There are many opportunities safety and environmental gas. While these exciting working environment, for young Engineers (mostly conservation which will have On December 2, 2010, Qatar most importantly without any investments are made in for Males) to gain valuable to be followed by all the was selected as the World influences form hefty white Qatar using their surplus experience in all the Contractors to the red letter. Cup’s location for the 2022 wealth, hundreds of clad lot that we encounter in disciplines. Anybody The country has been zoned FIFA (Fédération Internationale children are dying in Sri Lanka. de Football Association), interested could try their out for different uses such neighbouring countries like luck, by registering in a as residential, recreational, making it the first Arabian Somalia, Ethiopia and I hope to write more Letters website such as commercial, industrial, country to host football’s Niger due to lack of basic on Qatar in due course. (soccer’s) most important and ‘Gulftalent’. waste disposal, etc. The food, shelter and medicine. laws and the approval most widely viewed This is the reality in this Although English is processes are very rigid. You international tournament. world. Lusail City will play a major role contractual language mostly during the 2022 FIFA World In the Lusail development spoken languages are Cup by housing thousands of Project, I am working as Pilipino and Hindi. Not a visitors and hosting related Contract Advisor for single local is working in any events.An iconic structure, SAMSUNG, who have capacity in these Projects. Lusail National Stadium will be undertaken to build six Everything is handled by constructed for the 2022 FIFA bridges in 24 months at a expatriates. Only the top World Cup, and it will host the cost of US$ 90 million. most mangers are said to be opening and final games. Solar locals. I am yet to see any energy will power the cooling In our countries, we build of them. system for the Lusail bridges over existing rivers All kinds of machinery and Stadium—resulting in a zero or lagoons. In here they are equipment are at work in building over 12 bridges on carbon footprint. The stadium large numbers. Wherever will have an almost circular land and then, will be you go, you will find many base, surrounded by a moat excavating waterways tower cranes. See the 2nd under the completed and connected by six bridges picture. Our bridge work is to the parking area. structures. This country, as yet at the sub structure level. in many other gulf countries Note that the pile cap is on Writer’s Comments. have no natural streams. Their plan is to divert the excavated ground but not in 5 - Artist’s View of one of the Suspension Bridges a waterway!! lagoon into the lands and to under construction Sri Lanka Engineering News - July 2012 10 IESL NEWS

NOTICE TO ASSOCIATE MEMBERS Golden Jubilee Celebration of The attention of the prospective candidates of the Professional Review is drawn specifically to the following sections of the current Professional Review Rules: graduation from the Faculty of 1. Clause 5.1.7 which provides for the candidates to undergo training and gain experience under the supervision of a Mentor Engineering, Colombo if their places of work are not recognized by the Institution as having facilities for provision of such training. 2. Annex F which provides for candidates to seek exemption by Eng. Suranjith Peiris from the B Paper by taking part in activities of the Institution. 3. Clause A 2.1.4 which provides for the Civil Engineering graduates who are unable to do their designs in a Design Office recognized by the Institution to do a Comprehensive Design Project under a Chartered Engineer approved by the Institution. EXECUTIVE SECRETARY “Are You Ready 2012”- The Official Careers fair of University of Moratuwa E-Eac GOLDEN JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS HELD AT WATER’S by Rtr. Hasini Perera EDGE, BATTARAMULLA, SRI LANKA ON MAY 12TH 2012. Project Company Coordinator Top row left to right: M D P Samarasekera, Anton Nanayakkara, A P Jayasinghe, “Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is Michael Berman, G L Perera, Susantha Goonetilake, Pratab not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved.” Rotaract Sivaprakasapillai, Cyril Ratnam. Club of University of Moratuwa proudly extends a giant hand towards the young undergraduates, in order to change their Next row left to right: D Gammapila, Ashley Wickreme, P Ganendra, M S T destiny and to find the true talents of them. Fonseka, A S Rajendra, M S A Farook, Channa Amarasinghe. “Are You Ready?” is the official careers fair at the University of Moratuwa, one of the most sought after universities in Sri Lanka. Next row left to right : Shantilal de Silva, Bandu Wanigasekara, K K Gunawardana, Over the years “Are You Ready?” has evolved with ever changing Suranjith Peiris, Malkanthi Wickreme, Hema Goonetilake, K K requirements of the corporate world for graduates. Rotaract club Y W Perera, Denzil Senanayaka, J A Gunawardana, Asoka de of University of Moratuwa is hoping to present a better careers Silva, fair in this year as well. This year’s program includes new Nissanka Mutucumarana, Upali Furuppu. sessions starting from 13th of August, and most importantly Flagship Day on 16th of August. Front row left to right: Maya Amarasinghe, Ruvani de Silva, Ranjini Senanayaka, Malini Perera, Nesta Mutucumarana, Marguerite Peiris, Engineers’ Forum (13th Aug.) – Discussion of the • Swarna de Silva, Ranjini Nanayakkara, Marina Ratnam, Manel role of engineers in the ever changing global Wanigasekara landscape. • Benchmark (14th Aug.) – Workshop to help the undergraduates prepare for the interviews and the expatriate engineers he 1961 graduates EXPORAIL on the Internet prior develop their professional skills. and the Faculty Staff will no of the University of to the date of departure was a doubt bring fruitful results • Be Known (15th Aug.) – Workshop to introduce TCeylon, Faculty of bonus that the expatriate in the future. the concept of personal branding and its’ Engineering at Colombo engineers really appreciated. importance to help develop a corporate Prior to 1949 the celebrated their belated Well-dressed smart young network. requirement of engineers in fiftieth anniversary of men in the coach served us a Ceylon was satisfied by • Flagship Day (16th Aug.) – The major event of the graduation at the banquet copious breakfast and those who were granted program where employers get the opportunity to hall “The Link” of Water’s aromatic Ceylon Tea which the degrees by the University interview the final year undergraduates of the Edge, Battaramulla, Sri expatriates enjoyed as they university. Thus, both real interviews for recruitment th of London, that recognized Lanka on May 12 2012. do not get such tea in their and mock interviews will be held on the the teaching and training Two days later a group of countries of domicile. The Flagship Day. provided by the Ceylon them also visited the participants enjoyed the two Dining Etiquettes and Grooming Session (25th Technical College at • University of Peradeniya, and a half hours of Aug.) – Focus on helping undergraduates to . A crisis Faculty of Engineering camaraderie and fellowship identify the etiquettes of the social behavior in the occurred in December 1949 which was still on the during the train trip, after the professional world. when the University of drawing boards at the time busy dinner event in This program is mainly beneficial for final year undergraduates London, decided to they graduated. Battaramulla. The group toured of University of Moratuwa and also, companies who are seeking reconsider its recognition of the Peradeniya Engineering to recruit talented and knowledgeable staff to their organization. the facilities at the Ceylon “Are You Ready?” is so popular because, fresh undergraduates The group travelling to Labs which were far more Technical College. At this from Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of IT and Faculty of Peradeniya took the First advanced than the ancient labs time Ceylon was however Architecture can be interviewed at the same place conveniently. Class air conditioned of the Ceylon Technical industrializing rapidly since It is guaranteed that these undergraduates possess not only EXPORAIL coach with College Maradana that they educational qualifications, but also, extracurricular talents, gaining independence from reclining airplane seats and had used when they were professional qualifications and the required level of soft skills the British Raj in 1948. The was attached to the students. The High Voltage which any employer would long for. Government of Ceylon Intercity Express to Lab staff impressed some of “Are You Ready? 2012” is the most awaited moment by final therefore rightfully decided Kandy. We were very the visitors by demonstrating year undergraduates, in order to obtain the opportunity to build happy to note that the good to establish the Faculty of up their career path and by companies to recruit the best how sparks could climb up on old Ceylon Government Engineering under the employees for their workplace. We invite you all to participate a pair of divergent conductors by July in this program by sending us an interview panel from your Railways had loosened its several inches apart as the 1st 1950. It was no easy company and feel the difference and recruit the best out of the tentacles and had voltage was increased. task at the inception to best. accommodated this Exchange of views on the role recruit staff and to set up For further details Contact : privately operated luxury of engineering in the ever Rtr. Hasini Perera coach. The ability to changing world and the purchase tickets for the Project Company Coordinator, - 0711996912 and e-mail : establishing of bonds between Contd. on page 11... [email protected] Sri Lanka Engineering News - July 2012 IESL NEWS 11

Contd. from page 10.... conducted by some of the Surveying was one of the beginning of the third year. The a self introduction within two Golden Jubilee.. boring instructors, most interesting subjects students who cycled around minutes on their personal sometimes playing Contract we studied for Part One. girls schools during day time and professional the Faculty. The Faculty Bridge in the canteen We were required to carry and completed their drawing achievements. As each of us assignments at night quickly therefore started by training enjoying the 5cts cups of out a theodolite survey of was sharing fifty years of discovered this guy’s a few engineers each year in plain tea saturated with the entire Colombo Campus achievements, two minutes smartness. They slipped the the fields of Civil, Electrical brown sugar. We would then and draw a plan as the third were hardly sufficient to drawing table top off, removed and Mechanical Engineering. quietly slip into the adjacent term project of the second relate all of them. We the campus plan and quickly The rapid progress in Engineering Drawing Office year. The Surveying therefore had to have a bell glass sheeted his handy work. industrialization by at the appropriate time and Instructor used to worry ringer to give a warning ring Glass sheeting was a special establishing multiple Cement call in our index numbers in why survey groups at one and a half minutes sophisticated technique Manufacturing Plants and the right sequence. The invariably took an extra long followed by a loud ring at two developed by engineering new industries such as the instructor would recognize time surveying the Thurstan minutes. Other than for a students of the previous batch manufacturing of steel the voice related to the index Road end of the campus. handful of exceptions, most to duplicate drawings. It building components, number as genuine, but did The Zoology and Botany of the twenty five had to be required a large enough sheet Caustic Soda and Chlorine, not ever realize that it came Departments located there rung out several times to stop of glass and a powerful lamp made it imperative to from the adjoining had enticed the most them describing their that shone through it, through increase the number of Engineering Drawing Office desirable girls in the professional and personal the selected drawing and engineers that were being and not from the Class campus. The Beauty achievements. We were through the blank drawing trained. The first large batch Room. We somehow Queen of our batch was delighted to note that most paper laid over it. Only patience of sixty nine was chosen established the mandatory obviously among them. of us had reached the was then necessary to copy the from those that qualified in required attendance. Though she had many pinnacles of our careers in drawing. The night hawks took the Science and Maths Of the sixty nine who suitors from the Science reaching positions such as turns in riding their precious stream at the December entered in 1957 a few of us Faculty, it was one of us the chairmen of industrial Rs.50/= brakeless bicycles 1957 General Certificate of had to drop off after we failed that successfully courted organizations, professors in two miles to the restaurant Education – Advanced Level to reach the top percentile her and later married her. university and consultants to named the Lion House at the Examination and excelled at in the First in Science Exam There was yet another governmental organizations. Bambalapitiya Junction and a stiff interview held by the which we had to sit for. The factor that attracted the all However the loudest bringing =/05cts per cup plain staff of the Engineering subjects for the exam male engineering applause was for the tea for the glass sheeting Faculty and the Science included Chemistry that undergrads to the Thurstan engineer who proudly stunk worse than H S – Road end of the campus. experts. The affluent students declared that he had fifteen Faculty. 2 Hydrogen Sulfide. Worse The theodolites used in from the Colombo Schools used grand children. to order milk tea at =/10cts per The Engineering Faculty was still was that a pass in the surveying inverted the cup as their night cap. at that time confined to a section on Organic image of the object on Widespread inquiries small Engineering Drawing Chemistry was compulsory which it was focused. The revealed that out of the sixty Being an Engineering Office and a few Class although it had little to do imagination of the young all nine who entered in 1957, Undergraduate was a grueling Rooms at the Thurstan Road with engineering materials male engineering fourteen are no longer with task those days. Five days a Campus of the University of used at that time like steel, undergrads ran riot when us. We therefore had one week we had four hours of Ceylon in Colombo. Where cement, sand, and bricks. they pointed their minute silence in lectures in the mornings. After was the large number of The Faculty broke away theodolites into the Zoo and remembrance of them, a quickly gobbled lunch we then Engineering Undergrads to from tradition and required a Botany labs. The desirable transmitting merit to the cycled five miles in the hot sun be accommodated? A large few of us to repeat the Science Faculty Girls in departed or praying for their to the Ceylon Technical College enough Engineering Drawing Engineering Part One short skirts were bending souls as our individual in Maradana for lab work. One Office and an adequately Lectures without proceeding over the formalin smelling religious convictions lead us. cannot forget the huge diesel sized Class Room were to follow the Part Two dissecting trays dissecting We were unable to trace the engine with a four foot diameter completed adjacent to one Lectures and repeating the snails and frogs. How I where-about of nine of our fly wheel in the Thermo Lab on another at the Reid Avenue Part One Exam the following wished I was born a snail! batchmates and we which we were to run end of the University year. Surprisingly the entire commemorated them also. performance tests. This was Campus. The large all male batch presented the Only sixteen of us are now typically the type of engine that batch of engineering students Because different completed plans of the in Sri Lanka while the others operated the multitude of tea soon became the envy of the circumstances split our campus strictly on are spread all over the world. factory machines, which were comely Science Faculty batch into three groups, we schedule thirty days into Thirteen of us are in Canada, coupled to it through belts and Girls. The ingenious Science decided to open our the third year. This was not eight in Australia, four in the pulleys mounted on a long shaft Faculty Girls quickly celebrations to all who were what worried the Surveying United Kingdom and one that ran from one end of the tea conjured the name “Takarung interested in joining us. The Instructor. Quite a few of the each in Malaysia, factory to the other. Saturday Faculty” to ridicule the cream result was that the plans submitted had a Singapore, South America, mornings we repeated the trek of the crop who had entered celebrants formed an unique common defect in drawing Trinidad and the United to the Maradana Lab and back. the University for engineering set, never to be duplicated King George’s Hall, the States of America. We noted This left us completely at the competitive exam for elsewhere. At least one most prominent building on that a large number of our exhausted. Yet we had to write which they also had sat. This engineer was from the first the campus a few feet too progeny were married to non the lab reports and complete nomenclature was not based batch that graduated from short. The Surveying Sri Lankans and were the tutorials for the next week. on myth. The special building the Faculty in Colombo. To Instructor’s worry was how rendering valuable We did not realize at that time that was put up to complement this there was this common defect took professional services to that this was a course designed accommodate us was clad another engineer from the place. The designer of the countries other than Sri to make the fun loving teenage with shiny corrugated last batch that graduated drawing office tables had Lanka. pranksters who enter the galvanized steel sheets from the Faculty in Colombo, provided facilities to university into hard boiled called Takarung in Sinhala before it was moved to padlock the drawing board We the 1957 batch of mature engineers. We are now and gave rise to the name Peradeniya. An engineer drawer that was mounted engineers have contributed grateful to those who designed Takarung Faculty. from the last “males only” diagonally on the drawing extensively and are batch of engineers enhanced table frame for easy the grueling course as all of us continuing to do so through were fully converted at the end The ultra smart Takarung our uniqueness. We were access. The designer our progeny for the of four years. A few of us left Faculty inmates quickly took greatly privileged to have the however had not ensured development of not only Sri Ceylon for further studies while advantage of the structure of immediate elder brother of that the table top could be Lanka, but also of the entire others found jobs in Ceylon the Takarung Building. At the the First Female Engineer of easily removed to expose world. without difficulty in the blooming end of each lecture, the Ceylon. The first the drawer where even Ceylon Industrial Sector or the instructor would command Mechanical Engineer who finished drawings were The evening at the Water’s Government Sector. the students to call out their was awarded the title stored. One of the smart Edge ended with a group The twenty five engineers who index numbers to mark the Chartered Engineer by the guys had completed the photograph being taken. The participated in the celebrations attendance register. Many of IESL also marked his plan of the campus over the thirty seven participants are had not met each other for fifty us used to play truant and presence. Try duplicating three month holiday and identified by name in the years. Each engineer was not attend the classes this combination. locked it in his drawer at the accompanying photograph. therefore requested to present Sri Lanka Engineering News - July 2012 12 IESL NEWS

Civil Engineers’ and Council Members' Family Get Together - 2012 Reservations now on! Novelty over novelty! This time it’s a Chartered Train! The organizers of the Annual Civil Engineers’ Get Together seem to have novelty in their veins! Not to be outdone by their own efforts of the previous year aboard the Jet Liner ship, a train, chartered specially for them, will haul Civil Engineers and their families, to the tunes of calypso music, all the way from Colombo Fort Railway Station to Koggala for their annual get together on 25th August 2012. The palm fringed beaches and in-house facilities of the Club Koggala Village will be the setting this time for the nearly 400 men, women and children of the civil engineering fraternity to meet and renew friendships and refresh cherished memories. All in all, a fun filled and exciting day where light banter, rich food, fun and entertainment will help them unwind is on the cards for another memorable annual get together.Registrations for participation have just opened and is expected to become brisk. To avoid disappointment those aspiring to be part of the get together are advised to reserve their places early. Contact IESL Headquarters, Mr. Praneeth at 011-2698426 Ext 220 for reservations. Club Koggala Village is a beautiful hotel set on a glorious stretch of un crowded palm fringed beach. This is the perfect place to relax and unwind, to soak up the sun and go for long walks on the beach. All rooms were recently refurbished and have a direct view of our wonderful beach.

To: All Corporate and Associate Members of the IESL IESL DIRECTORY OF CORPORATE & ASSOCIATE MEMBERS

The IESL intends to publish a directory of all Corporate Members and Associate Members with updated information. When we peruse the information available with us we still find incomplete data and we are also doubtful about the current records which we have as the members have failed to update their information in order to incorporate correct information in our database.

Therefore, we would like you to send your current details on or before 15th August 2012 enabling us to publish this directory as you will appreciate that it is a long-felt need of the IESL for an updated- database. If your information is not received on or before the aforesaid date, the IESL will proceed with finalizing the directory with the available information:

Please provide current details on the following format:

Name: Prof./Dr./Eng.

Membership No: F/M/AM

Telephone/Mobile:

Fax:

E-Mail Address:

Present Postal Address:

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