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DM 2006 Project Implementation PROGRESS REPORT - 3

[06/15/2008] In order to ensure transparency, accountability, as well as to share lessons learned, we will post this Progress Report on the Development Marketplace website at www.developmentmarketplace.org However, if you would like to share any sensitive information with us, you can do so in section VI. The information provided in this part of the report will be handled as confidential and will not appear on the DM website.

I. Background Information DM Project Number and Title DM#1994

Pebble Matrix Filtration in Sri Lanka Report Author’s Name (if different from Team Leader)

Total Award US$ 129,950 Amount Disbursed to Date US$ 110,458 (85 % of the Total Award)

II. Progress Against Milestones

i) List the milestone objectives in the first column as expressed in the Project Agreement. The second column should indicate the current status of each milestone objective. In the third column, please provide quantitative data and qualitative information describing the status of the project against that particular milestone.

Milestone Objectives (Copy from the Agreement)

Status (Completed/ In Progress)

Descriptive Information on the Status

Signing the Contract: 1. Discuss and agree on the

milestone objectives with the Project Advisor.

2. Project Agreement Signed by

the Project Team, Project Partner, and the World Bank Country Director

Completed Completed

On the 11 December 2006, a meeting took place between the General Manager (GM) of the NWSDB, DGM, Logistics and the Team Leader to agree on the milestones. The requested that prior to signing a contract a MOU be signed between the Team Leader and the NWSDB, recording the duties and responsibilities of the two parties and the distribution of funds between the two parties while working together in a spirit of collaboration.The team leader met with the Project Advisor to discuss and agree upon the milestones. The GM proposed that although the original proposal was made with the Planning & Design (P&D) Team, the project to be implemented under the Research & Development (R&D) unit. On the March 2007, Signing of the contract between NWSDB and PNG Unitech setting milestones to complete

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construction of the PMF unit at Kataragama WTP by October 2007 and start monitoring the plant covering December – February monsoon season.

Milestone 1: 1. Site surveying, testing of water

quality/preliminaries 2. Design/preparation of Drawings

and Bill of Quantities 3. Award of contract

Submit 1st standard DM progress report to Project Advisor and DM Contact

Completed Completed In progress. Will be completed before the set deadline of 30th September 2007. completed

A new HACH-2100 turbidimeter was purchased in September 2007 and will be sent to the Kataragama plant. The old meter at the site will be checked against this new meter and all previous readings will be adjusted if there is any discrepancy. Based on ‘Turn Key’ contract. After consultation with the procurement officers at the World Bank Country Office in Colombo, it was agreed that invitation for bids will be made under “National Shopping’ procedure. Two options will be considered for the filter tanks, one with Ferro Cement and the other with Reinforced Concrete. The shopping document will be based on ICTAD/SBD/03 for minor contracts (below Rupees 5 million). The contract will be awarded on the 29th September 2007.

Milestone 2:

1. Design of PMF

Completed

In the original proposal we were planning to design two reinforced concrete tanks. However, in the final design after lengthy discussions we have chosen to build one reinforced concrete tank and one Ferro-cement tank. The water board has already few Ferro-cement water storage tanks with capacities up to 90 m3 built by the National Engineering Research and Development (NERD) Centre, a government body. Our requirement is only 50 m3 capacity, however not as a water storage tank, but as a filter tank to hold filter materials and allow backwash operations. To the best of our knowledge this would be the first of its kind so if we are

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2. Construction of PMF – Civil Works

3. Completion of the installation of the electrical circuitry and mechanical pumps for the system to be operational

4. Testing and Commissioning / Handover

Submit 2nd standard DM progress report to Project Advisor and DM Contact.

Completed Completed Completed Completed

successful then the savings would be as high as 50% compared to a reinforced concrete tank of similar size. Hence with the assurance of a 6 month warranty by NERD, we have adopted one Ferro-cement tank. Although it was planned to award the contract for construction on the 29 September 2007, due to further negotiations with the contractor, the award of contract was made on the 10 October 2007 to the lowest bidder, AKK Engineers (Pvt) Ltd. According to the newly adopted design as explained above, one reinforced concrete tank by AKK Engineers and another Ferro-cement tank by NERD Centre was completed by end of February 2008. Delay in completion of construction was mainly due to security problems in the area, bad weather and few weeks delay in funds transfer resulting late delivery of materials. In order to avoid the common problem of getting spare parts for imported pumps, we have made a lot of efforts in finding a suitable pump manufactured locally and finally found a close match through Jinasena Pumps Ltd, Sri Lanka. Two pumps in parallel were connected and installed with electrical circuitry by mid-February 2008. Pumps were commissioned successfully on the 21st February 2008. Reinforced concrete filter tank with filter media was commissioned and backwashed on the 22nd February 2008. Ferro-cement tank construction is completed, and commissioning in progress. It is planned to hand over the plant to commemorate the World Water Day, 22 March 2008. The monitoring of the Ferro-cement tank started from the 3 April 2008, but due to some leaks in the Reinforced Concrete tank, the monitoring started from the 27 May 2008 of both tanks on a regular basis with the appointment of a new operator for the PMF plant for a period of 10 months, from 27 May 2008 to 27 March 2009. The operator has been trained over one week by the Chief Engineer of R&D, NWSDB, while the Chief Engineer was on site for inspection of filters.

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Milestone 3: 1. End of monitoring under DM2006 & Summary Report of Results and Evaluation Submit 3rd standard DM progress report to Project Advisor and DM Contact.

Partially Completed Completed

Although the construction of the plant is complete, due to various delays in the project, the monitoring period will be extended till March 2009. There were delays in starting the project first of all due to change in senior management at the NWSDB, and various other unforeseen circumstances beyond the control of the project team. For example the unexpectedly short May monsoon period with low turbidity in Kataragama area, while other parts of the country was inundated with floods and severe damage to property and life (Murphy’s Law!). Summary Report of Results and Evaluation till 15 June 2008 is submitted with this 3rd progress report.

ii) If you did not achieve some of your stated milestone objectives, please explain the reasons.

Due to security concerns the NERD Centre work force delayed traveling to Kataragama area. They arrived on site only late February 2008, but completed their task in less than two weeks. This resulted in the delay of commissioning the Ferro-cement tank. Also, after testing the sand media we found that the supplied sand size was not as specified in the BOQ. A delay occurred in correcting this problem too.

iii) Has your project’s overall accomplishments to date exceeded the original plan?

Yes No If Yes, describe your achievements:

III. Overall Project Progress i) What have been the main challenges of your project to date? What, if any, adjustments have you made to your original business plan in order to overcome the challenges and meet your objectives?

Challenges: Adjustments: 1. Getting the project approved by the

Board of Directors of NWSDB as no meetings were taking place due to

The steering Committee of the DM project team met with the management of the NWSDB and it was agreed that the project can go ahead pending

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industrial action. 2. One of the original partners of the

project, the Planning & Design (P&D) unit was too busy with other commitments, hence initial progress was slow.

3. The R&D Unit came up with the idea

that construction of the filter tanks in Ferro Cement would be much cheaper compared to Reinforced Concrete. The NWSDB has some Ferro Cement water tanks built by NERD (a Government body) with capacities as high as 70 m3, whereas the PMF tanks are 50 m3.

approval by the Board. Due to the research nature of the project, the General Manager of the NWSDB agreed to move the project from Planning & Design unit to Research & Development (R&D) Unit. We have requested the NERD to conduct full scale load testing to simulate PMF conditions and a Senior Lecturer in Structural Engineering at the Open University (Chartered Engineer) has observed these tests and submitted a report confirming that PMF tanks can be built with Ferro Cement material. If this is the case this would be a new direction for constructing filter tanks with major financial benefits to water industries throughout the world. Hence we are considering the two options (Ferro Cement & Reinforced Concrete) as described under section II, above.

ii) Have any of your objectives changed or have you added new objectives since you signed your Project Agreement? If Yes, explain the changes.

Yes No

The Ferro Cement & Reinforced Concrete comparison of PMF tanks. Also, as opposed to the backwash system used in laboratory and field trials, a new nozzle system will be used at Kataragama plant for better back wash water distribution, hence better cleaning of the filters. A model will be constructed and tested at NERD with these new nozzles to observe the effectiveness of backwashing and to estimate the most effective filter backwash rate.

iii) Do you have any concerns about meeting your next milestone objectives?

Yes No

If Yes, what are the concerns and how do you plan on addressing those challenges?

iii) Although this is an interim report, are there any development outcomes or results of your activities to date that you would like to call attention to?

Not at this stage.

iv) Reminder: In accordance with Paragraph 3.1.1 of the Project Agreement, each project team is required to submit a statement of account showing the use of the funds within three months after the

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last disbursement. As a part of periodical expenditure review exercise, please provide an annex with un-audited summary of expenses during this reporting period. IV. Ancillary Achievements i) Have you or has your organization received any awards/recognitions or media attention as a result of your DM-funded project during this period?

Yes No

If Yes, please specify the sources and identify the names.

Award /Recognition Media e.g. International: BBC News on Dec. 3-4, 2003

Local: National: International:

Local: National: International:

Explain the Award/Recognition or the Media content: Pebble Matrix Filtration Technology was nominated for Tech Museum Award 2007. Invited Lecture: Team leader was invited to give a public lecture on the project by the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science (SLAAS), and the lecture was presented on the 25th February 2008 entitled “Sustainable Water Treatment for Developing Countries – Kataragama WTP”, jointly with NWSDB. Attach web links/news clips, if available:

World Water Day-2008, Commissioning of the first full-scale Pebble Matrix Filtration plant to commemorate the World Water Day 2008, Souvenir published by the NWSDB with Ministry of Water Supply & Drainage, 22 March 2008, p56. Rajapakse, J.P. and Sumanaweera, S., Pretreatment Ahead of Slow Sand Filtration at Kataragama Water Treatment Plant, Sri Lanka, Journal of the Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka, vol xxxx, No. 2, pp. 53-57, issue April 2007. The Reporter, PNG University of Technology, Unitech wins World Bank’s innovation Award, Issue 1590, June 2-9, 2006, ISSN: 10119-5354, www.unitech.ac.pg The National, Unitech wins top engineering award, 7 July 2006.

ii) Has your organization made any new partnerships as a result of this project during this reporting period?

Yes No

If Yes, specify type of the organization from the list below and describe nature of the partnership:

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Local Government: National Government: NGO: Bilateral Development Agency:

Multilateral Development Agency: Private Corporations: Other:

e.g. Multilateral Development Agency: Development Marketplace of the World Bank (financial partnership and technical assistance)

iii) Sustainability and scalability after completion of the DM fund are top of the DM Team’s priorities. Has your organization leveraged new funding or secured future funding during this reporting period?

Yes No

If Yes, provide the following information. Funding Sources: Names of the Organizations Amounts Funded/Committed: US$ 000,000

V. Requests to the DM i) Do you have any comments on the overall process and support provided by the DM Team or Project Liaison?

The support of DM Team, particularly the Project Advisor’s interest in the project is highly appreciated.

ii) If your contact information has changed, please provide us with the new information.

Contact Name: Title: Organization: Primary Email Address: Secondary Email Address: Organization's Website Phone: Fax: Address: Postal Code:

VI. Confidential Report Please provide, if any, sensitive comments or requests in the box below. Information provided in this section will be handled as confidential and will not be publicly posted on the DM website.

VII. Next Steps

Send this Progress Report to your Project Liaison via email cc to the DM team dmwinner@worldbank.org

The Project Liaison will review the Report and will either a) approve the Report and authorize disbursement via email with cc to dmwinner@worldbank.org ; or

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b) does not approve (or does not authorize disbursement) but responds with comments, questions, requests for team to address with cc to dmwinner@worldbank.org (in this case, the team would address PLs concern to move to approval)

In the mean time, team send signed Request for Payment to DM Team a) via fax +1-202-522-2042; or b) scanned document via email to dmwinner@worldbank.org OR

Mail signed Withdrawal Application Form to LOA Department at The World Bank

LOA Disbursement Management Group 2 1818 H Street, NW, MSN: MC7-714

Washington, DC 20433 USA

Upon receipt of the following, the DM Team can process disbursement: a) Progress Report & Expense Addendum in Annex I b) Signed Request for Payment or Withdrawal Application Form c) Project Liaison’s approval of report and authorization of payment

Annex I. Project Expenses for this Reporting Period Items Sub-Totals (USD) 1 Personnel 6,475 2 Materials and Equipment (excl 15% VAT) 4,784 3 Training n/a 4 Travel n/a 5 Evaluation/Information Dissemination 299 6 General Administration/Overhead 600 7 Other (taxes & other) 805 Total Expenses 12,963

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PMF PROJECT (DM#1994) PROGRESS IN FOTOS SINCE SIGNING OF THE GRANT AGREEMENT &

RECEIVING PAYMENT TRANCHE # 1

23 Sept 2007 Modifications to the drawings passed on to the draughtsman before finalizing Tender Documents

24 Sept 2007 First round of invitation for bids (failed due to very high bids) at the

National Contractor’s Association of Sri Lanka

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24 Sept 2007 Visit to the 1m X 1m X 3m high model PMF at the National

Engineering Research & Development (NERD) Centre at Ekala

25 Sept 2007 PMF SITE _Visit to Kataragama Water Treatment Plant for PMF site inspection

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25 Sept 2007

Handing over the newly purchased HACH Turbidimeter (existing

meter faulty) to OIC at Kataragama Treatment Plant

2 Oct 2007 Second round of invitation for bids at the NWSDB Head Office, R & D Division, Thelawala Road, Ratmalana

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2 Oct 2007 to 4 Oct 2007

Preparation for PMF Model testing at NERD Centre, Ekala

5 Oct 2007

Testing the PMF Model at NERD Centre, Ekala

10 Oct 2007 Award of contract for construction to AKK Engineers (PVT) Ltd 20 Oct 2007 Construction commenced 22 Oct 2007 Construction progress in 2 days

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14 Nov 2007 Construction progress in 25 days

16 Nov 2007 Payment Tranche # 2 3 Dec 2007

Testing the new under-drain / back-wash nozzles

at the Papua New Guinea University of Technology

28 Dec 2007 NERD Ferro Cement panels ready for transport to Kataragama site

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10 Jan 2008

Construction progress in 82 days

Reinforced Concrete tank at 3m full-height with slab ready for Ferro Cement tank erection with NERD panels

15 Feb 2008 Planned date for commissioning of the plant delayed due to recent bombing in January 2008 at Buttala-Kataragama road with 30

deaths, technical staff at NERD are reluctant to transport Ferro Cement panels to Kataragama until the security clearance is given by the military,

which is currently underway.

19 Feb 2008

Filtrate and backwash inlet pipe connections

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19 Feb 2008

Installation of Locally Manufactured Pumps

(Jinasena Pumps Ltd)

19 Feb 2008

Securing the Pumping Line

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19 Feb 2008

Commissioning the Pumps

19 Feb 2008

Sorting Pebbles

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19 Feb 2008

Placing filter support media and sorted pebbles above nozzles

21 Feb 2008

Preparation of Pebble / Sand Mixed bed

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21 Feb 2008

Pressure Gauge for Head loss monitoring through the filter

22 Feb 2008

Commissioning the Reinforced Concrete Tank (Backwashing)

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19 Mar 2008

Construction progress in 164 days First full-scale PMF Filter Tanks

Commissioning the Ferro-cement tank (right)

10 Jun 2008

Newly Appointed and Trained Operator Monitoring the Plant