Sri Lanka

(PR)(Vol.7) Best technology goes beyond borders for decisive hydropower project in Sri Lanka | AERA dot.


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One of the hydroelectric plants embodying the philosophy of Electric Power Development Corporation Limited (J-POWER) is located in Sri Lanka, an island country far from Japan. What are the people and technologies that support the country’s rapid development?

(Vol.7) The Essence of Technology Transcending Borders Hydropower Projects Are Concerning the Destiny of Sri Lanka

J-POWER was established in support of Nippon Electric Power after the war and has been involved in various power projects including the Sakuma Power Station. Through trial and error, the technology was honed in Japan and now underpins part of the world’s electricity supply.

One of them is on the island of Ceylon in Sri Lanka, also known as the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean”. In 2022, the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations will be celebrated, and it is a country with deep ties to Japan.

In 2003, J-POWER issued a press release. The content is that the company has received an order for consulting services related to the construction supervision of the Upper Kotmale hydropower project in Sri Lanka.

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The Upper Kotmale underground power station under construction (photo courtesy of Power Development Co., Ltd.)

Due to the lack of energy resources such as coal, oil, and natural gas, Sri Lanka at that time had to rely on imported fuels for power generation. Water is the only resource that can be used to generate electricity. Sri Lanka has landforms suitable for hydropower development, and the Sri Lankan government is actively implementing hydropower development and supplying electricity to the whole country.

Since then, however, the country’s economy has grown far faster than the government could have imagined.Sri Lanka’s per capita GDP was about US$1,100 in 2003 and exceeded US$4,000 in 2017

. It has nearly quadrupled in the past decade or so and is in a period of rapid economic growth similar to Japan’s in the past.

At the same time, the demand for electricity has increased dramatically. The power supply and demand situation in Sri Lanka continues to be extremely tense, and power cuts are frequently implemented. Under such circumstances, the Upper Kotmale hydropower project is planned by the government as an important source of power for development.

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Since 1962, J-POWER has participated in 361 overseas consulting projects involving the development of power supply and power transmission and transformation facilities in 64 countries and regions around the world. Masaru Hagiwara is a civil engineering specialist who has been consulting companies overseas for over 20 years.

Hagiwara said.

“Sri Lanka, like Japan, is a resource-poor country. We are having difficulty setting tariffs. The construction of the Upper Cotmel Hydropower Station will allow us to use domestically produced energy, so it is a major project that will affect the country s future.”

Hagiwara’s work on the Upper Kotomale hydroelectric project has two main components. First of all, from the perspective of consultants, from power plant design to bidding, placing orders, and determining contractors, it is necessary to do a good job before the start of construction. The other is project management after construction begins. Quality control, schedule, budget, management of each contractor, safety and health, environmental management, and responsiveness to local residents are all necessary to complete the power plant.
Necessary for overseas projects

Experience, Intuition and Courage

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In 1997, Mr. Hagiwara made his first foray into overseas power generation projects. Since then, he has participated in more than 20 overseas consulting projects and visited more than 40 countries, including research. Due to the nature of the business providing consulting on technologies cultivated in Japan, most of the target countries are developing countries. Peru, Cambodia, Philippines, Myanmar… In some countries, security is so precarious that it is almost impossible to leave the scene.

Yuncan Dam in Peru (Photo provided by Power Development Co., Ltd.)

In 2003, I was in charge of the Kotmalay Upstream Hydropower Project. Until the end of 2006, he was involved in pre-construction work in Japan. That was during Sri Lanka’s civil war that had been going on since 1983.

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“Civil engineering uses a lot of gunpowder, so until the end of the civil war in 2009, protecting gunpowder from terrorist attacks is an important task. In addition, this project has about 500 flooded houses and it is necessary to solve the problems related to relocation , such as preparing a new house for relocation. There are “

Housing (above) and school (below) built for residents relocated after the construction of the Upper Kotmal Hydropower Dam (photo courtesy of Power Development Co., Ltd.)

Of course, there are also many technical issues.

In Upper Kotmale, 13 kilometers of tunnel had to be dug. However, the longest tunnel ever dug in Sri Lanka was only about 400 meters long. Japan didn’t have enough tunnel digging experience, so they brought in workers from places like Nepal. Other “unexpected” incidents may keep happening, but Hagiwara said those problems are not a big deal.

So what’s the biggest worry? Although Hagiwara started with his personal point of view, it also revealed the uneasiness at the time.

“Technical problems that arise during construction can be dealt with by budgeting and taking countermeasures. There are many countermeasures that can be taken before the project is completed. However, if the water does not accumulate after completion, it is fatal. Of course, before the decision to start construction, we collect After collecting all kinds of information and repeated surveys, we are confident that we can store water and generate electricity here, but in fact, we are the first to build a dam there, and you need experience, intuition and courage to make a decision that you can do.”
Assigned tasks

“A power plant in harmony with the environment”

Mr. Xabi Fernando, who was the general manager of Ceylon Electric Power Bureau at that time, communicated with Hagiwara as a counterpart and reviewed those days.

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“The Upper Kotmale hydropower project is an extremely important landmark project for Sri Lanka, where the economy continues to grow. J-POWER has done an excellent job in terms of quality control, worker safety, budget and coordination with each contractor. This Almost the same as the simulated numbers in 2014. It really surprised me.

Mr. Xabi Fernando, then general manager of Ceylon Electricity Authority (photo courtesy of Xabi Fernando)

Mr. Harvey said that among the countless exchanges with Hagiwara, one stood out.

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“An important task entrusted by the government during the development process is to create a power plant that is in harmony with the environment. St. Clair Falls. As long as you build a dam, the flow of the waterfall will inevitably be affected.” But after the dam was built, Mr. Hagiwara In order to keep the original appearance as much as possible, they changed the flow and displacement of the dam, tried and tested, took pictures, showed us, and decided with us after consultation. “

St. Clair Falls is a popular tourist destination and is also known as “Sri Lanka’s Little Niagara Falls”. Surrounded by tea plantations, the typical origin of Sri Lankan Ceylon black tea. (Photo provided by Power Development Co., Ltd.)

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Then, in 2012, the Upper Kotmale hydroelectric power plant successfully started operations. Curiously, this year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Sri Lanka. The upper Kotmalay hydroelectric power plant is inscribed on the commemorative coin.

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The then President of Sri Lanka, Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa (pictured), was also present at the completion ceremony. Hagiwara (right) introduces the general situation of the power plant (photo courtesy: Electric Power Development Co., Ltd.)

Former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda (left) also visited during the construction period (picture provided by Electric Power Development Co., Ltd.)
i have no relationship or connection

patriotic

The reliability of J-POWER’s work is also evident from the fact that after the completion of the Upper Kotmale Hydropower Station, J-POWER received an order for a power planning project to meet the peak demand of Sri Lanka. Needless to say, Hagiwara was appointed Director of Operations.

After the project ended, Hagiwara actually visited Sri Lanka under various pretexts. However, the real purpose was to see the Upper Kotmale hydroelectric power plant that he was involved in.

“I’ve been involved in many projects so far, but the Upper Kotmalle Hydropower Project is the only one where I was able to see everything from the initial design phase to the completion of the dam. Even after returning to Japan, I saw the daily Both have local news for a while.”

Hagiwara said that after finishing his overseas project, he began to love the country with which he had no previous connection.

There is a sentence that can reveal Hagiwara’s character and feelings for Sri Lanka. In an article for a specialist magazine, Hagiwara talks about how J-POWER got involved in Upper Kotomare, the power situation in Sri Lanka, the difficulty of local quality control, and more.have

The civil war in Sri Lanka ended in 2009 and the security situation improved significantly. There are many world heritage sites, and I heard that there are a lot of Japanese tourists recently. I hope everyone comes to Sri Lanka once.

Hagiwara’s choice of closing words has nothing to do with technology, nor is it a grandiose statement about how he contributed to the project. However, this is a simple sentence, I want you to visit the country you fell in love with.

Even after retirement, Hagiwara was required by the company to work on international business as a full-time contract worker. Currently, the Kidston pumped storage power generation project under construction by Australian renewable energy company Genex Power, which J-POWER invested in this year, is said to be under construction.

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The new coronavirus infection continues to spread around the world, and tense days continue due to the difficulty of traveling to and from overseas. However, when the situation stabilizes and he’s free, somewhere in the world, he’ll surely be seen visiting the dams he’s a part of.

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The construction site of the Kidston pumped storage power station in Australia. It plans to use the abandoned gold mine as a reservoir for a pumped-storage power plant. Repeatedly pumping water between the upper and lower reservoirs to generate electricity can be said to have played the role of a storage battery for hydropower generation. With the rapid development of renewable energy in countries around the world, grid stabilization measures are required. In view of this situation, J-POWER has named its business model of hydroelectric power generation (including pumped storage power generation) with energy storage and regulation functions “WATER BATTERY®” and is working on overseas commercialization (photo) ).Power Development Limited offer)

“WATER BATTERY®” logo (photo courtesy of Power Development Co., Ltd.)

*Source: IMF country data

Masaru HagiwaraBorn in Toyama Prefecture. Joined Electric Power Development Co., Ltd. after graduating from Tokyo Institute of Technology’s master’s program (Civil Engineering) in 1979. Worked at the Civil Engineering Research Institute (currently Chigasaki Research Institute), and was assigned to the Development Planning Department in 1991, which formulated domestic hydropower development plans. In 1997, he became the Minister of International Business Department, supporting overseas hydropower projects. ) and other overseas projects

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Text: Takahiro Okuda Photo: Takuma Imamura

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