1

GOVERNMENT OF THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF

SRI LANKA

Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development

Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation

in collaboration with

Western Region Megapolis Planning Project

Draft Report

Pre-Feasibility Study

Inland Water Based Transport Project (Phase I)

Western Province

Sri Lanka

April 2017

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PRE-FEASIBILITY STUDY TEAM

Name Designation Institute

Dr. N.S. Wijayarathna Team Leader,

Deputy General

Manager (Wetland

Management)

Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and

Development Corporation

Dr. Dimantha De Silva Deputy Team Leader,

Transport Specialist,

Senior Lecturer

Western Region Megapolis Planning

Project

Transportation Engineering Division,

Department of Civil Engineering,

University of Moratuwa

Mr. R.M. Amarasekara Project Director,

Transport

Development Project

Ministry of Megapolis and Western

Development

Dr. W.K. Wimalsiri Infrastructure

Specialist

Head of the

Department

Department of Mechanical

Engineering

University of Moratuwa

Dr. H.K.G. Punchihewa Safely Specialist,

Senior Lecturer

Department of Mechanical

Engineering

University of Moratuwa

Sri Lanka

Mr. Nayana Mawilmada Head of Investments Western Region Megapolis Planning

Project

Mr. Thushara

Sumanasekara

Procurement

Specialist

Western Region Megapolis Planning

Project

Ms. Disna Amarasinghe Legal Consultant Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and

Development Corporation

Mrs. Ramani Ellepola Environmental

Specialist

Western Region Megapolis Planning

Project

Mr. Indrajith

Wickramasinghe

Financial Analyst Western Region Megapolis Planning

Project

Ms. Chantal Sirisena Investment Analyst Western Region Megapolis Planning

Project

Mr. Kaushan

Devasurendra

Transport Engineer Western Region Megapolis Planning

Project

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Eng. Mahinda Gamage Structural Engineer Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and

Development Corporation

Ms. Ranoshi Siripala Ecologist Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and

Development Corporation

Mr. Chanuka Suranjan Architect Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and

Development Corporation

Mr. Wickramanayake Land Officer Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and

Development Corporation

Mr Dilruk Wedage Surveyor Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and

Development Corporation

Mr. Hasitha Kalahe Civil Engineer Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and

Development Corporation

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This document presents the Final Report of the consultancy services for the „Pre-Feasibility

Study of the Inland Water Based Transport Project, Western Province, Sri Lanka (Phase I)‟.

The report is the result of a three-month consultancy project which involved meetings

between the consultants and officials of the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development

Corporation (SLLRDC) and Western Region Megapolis Planning Project (WRMPP) as well

as the review and analysis of relevant documents and available secondary data. This study

was undertaken to identify the pre-feasibility of proposed Inland Water Transport Lines,

Wellawatte-Battaramulla (IW1) along the Wellawatte and Kotte Canal and Fort-Union Place

(IW2) in the Beira Lake by the Western Region Megapolis Transport Master Plan.

The average speed of the vehicles in the major transport corridors has fallen below 10 kmph

during peak hours and the existing public transportation system is unable to cater for the

mobility requirements of the people, hence its modal share is decreasing gradually.

Therefore, the need has arisen for an alternative transportation mode, which does not use the

existing road structure. In this regard, inland water transportation has been identified as a low

cost, minimal pollution, sizeable capacity, pleasant and a safe transportation medium.

Forming the basis of this study, existing data on the Wellawatte-Battaramulla canal stretch

and Beira Lake was documented and data gaps were identified. The Initial Transport Demand

Assessment is taken from the JICA STRADA (System for Traffic Demand Analysis)

transport demand model which was used for demand estimation of the Transport Master Plan

developed for the Western Region Megapolis Planning Project. Field surveys were carried

out to address the identified data gaps; bed levels in the canal, horizontal clearance at bridges

and vertical clearance between water level and soffit level of the overhead structures.

Locations of the stations were identified considering the demand availability, land

availability, inter-connectivity with other transport modes and access to those stations. Nine

stations were proposed for Wellawatte-Battaramulla Line and four stations were proposed for

Fort-Union Place Line. Vessels were designed according to canal specifications; single hull

boats are recommended for IW1 and catamaran double hull boats for IW2. Environmentally-

friendly vessels with minimum pollution are encouraged. Vessels with adjustable roofs are

suitable to address the limit of overhead clearance at certain sections.

Safety concerns regarding design and operation, project risks related to political, economic,

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social, legal, environmental and technological aspects were considered. From the financial

feasibility study, it was identified that it is possible to achieve an Equity IRR of 20%. In this

scenario, additional revenues are modeled at less than 10% of the total revenue generation.

The core business case is the operation of the passenger ferry transportation system. Other

potential revenues generated through additional uses of the canal system (such as ecotourism

or other services deemed appropriate) will enhance this business case.

The project is feasible to implement through a Public Private Partnership where the

government of Sri Lanka will contribute assets; namely the jetties. The GOSL should also

undertake the initial dredging of the waterways and maintenance of this throughout the

contract period. The vessel operation service and maintenance facility construction should be

awarded to a selected private party through a competitive two-stage tender process.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. introduction 1

1.1 Project Background 1

1.2 Scope 3

1.3 Objectives 3

1.4 Justification to the selected routes IW1 and IW2 4

1.4.1 Battaramulla- Wellawatta Line (IW1) 5

1.4.2 Fort-Union Place Line(IW2) 7

1.4.3 Mattakkuliya-Hanwella Line 8

2. approach and Methodology 10

2.1 Transport Demand Assessment 10

2.1.1 Initial Demand Assessment 10

2.1.2 Updated Demand Assessment 23

2.2 The Ferry Requirement 29

2.3 Start-up Demand for 2017 30

3. Structural Capacity Identification of Related Water Bodies 32

3.1 Current Infrastructure Status of Wellawatte- Battaramulla Line (IW1) 32

3.2 Land availability for boat stations and other development 33

3.2.1 IW1 33

3.3 Suggestions for an effective transport solution along IW1 38

3.4 Initial Environmental and Social Assessment 38

3.4.1 Environmental impacts of Inland water based passenger transportation 38

3.4.2 Social impacts of Inland water based passenger transportation project 42

3.5 Preliminary ferry designs and specifications 42

3.5.1 Boat Design 43

3.5.2 Design approach to boat‟s capacity estimation 43

3.5.2.1 Preliminary dimensions 43

3.5.2.2 Design and Construction of the boat 45

3.5.2.3 Engine and Propelling System 46

3.5.3 Resistance and Power calculations 49

4. Initial Safety Audit of the Canal Route 53

4.1 Health and Safety 53

4.1.1 Regulations 53

4.2 Designing for safety 53

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4.3 Operational Safety 59

4.3.1 Water Safety 63

4.3.2 Fuel Safety 65

4.3.3 Security 66

5. Project Risk 67

5.1 Political Risk 67

5.2 Economic Risk 68

5.3 Social Risk 69

5.3.1 External 69

5.3.2 Internal 70

5.4 Legal 70

5.5 Environmental Risk 71

5.6 Technological Risk 71

6. Financial Viability 72

6.1 Demand Data 72

6.2 Financial modeling 73

6.3 Ticketing Revenue 74

6.3.1 Price Sensitivity 75

6.3.2 Boat Price Sensitivity 75

7. Investment through Public Private Partnership 76

7.1 Build, Operate, Transfer (BOT) 76

7.2 Build, Operate, Own, Transfer (BOOT) 76

8. Status of Legal and Institutional Arrangements 77

8.1 Assess Current Laws, policies and Institutional Assessment 77

9. Key Recommendations 79

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Parameters for IW1 and IW2 25

Table 2: Fare for IW1 26

Table 3: Daily bi-directional passenger volume for Wellawatte-Battaramulla Line (IW1) for

Scenario 2,5 & 11 31

Table 4: Daily bi-directional passenger volume for Fort-Union Place Line (IW2) for Scenario

2,5 & 11 31

Table 5:Aggregate Outputs of Demand Model for Megapolis Project Scenarios 33

Table 6: Daily bi-directional Passenger Volumes for IW1 at an average speed of 18km/h 38

Table 7: Daily bi-directional Passenger Volume for IW2 at an average speed of 18km/h 38

Table 8: Station to Station Demands for IW1 for Years 2020, 2025 and 2035 for updated

demand analysis 39

Table 9: Station to Station Demands for IW2 for Years 2020, 2025 and 2035 for updated

demand analysis 40

Table 10: Fleet Requirement for IW1 40

Table 11: Fleet requirement for IW2 41

Table 12: Year 2017 Demand for IW1 42

Table 13: Year 2017 Demand for IW2 42

Table 14: Soffit levels of overhead structures along the IW1 43

Table 15: Summary of land ownership of proposed jetty locations 45

Table 16 Flood level frequency 48

Table 17: Proposed commercial developments along IW1 50

Table 18:Boat Specifications for IW1 60

Table 19:Final calculations of resistance and power by Mercier and Savitsky's method 61

Table 20: Preliminary Design of Catamaran Passenger Boat 62

Table 21: Resistance and Power calculations 63

Table 22 : Peak Demand Hour-Single Direction 72

Table 23 : Off-Peak Demand Hour-Single Direction 72

Table 24 : Usage Trend Projection 73

Table 25 : Results of financial modeling 74

Table 26 : Baseline Analysis 74

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Table 27 : Price Sensitivity 75

Table 28 : Boat price sensitivity 75

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: WRMPP Proposed Inland Water Transport System 13

Figure 2:Wellawatta-Battaramulla(IW1) Line 17

Figure 3:Parts of Beira Lake 18

Figure 4: Fort-Union Place Line 19

Figure 5: Mattakkuliya-Hanwella Line 20

Figure 6: Pre-feasibility Study Model 21

Figure 7: Process of the analysis for present and future demand forecast 22

Figure 8: Analysis of the Megapolis Transport Demand Project Scenarios 24

Figure 9: Fare for IW1 26

Figure 10: Total Inland Water Transport Passenger Volume for 2020 for Scenario 2 28

Figure 11: Total Inland Water Passenger Demand for 2025 for Scenario 5 29

Figure 12: Total Inland Water Passenger Demand for 2035 for Scenario 11 30

Figure 13: Total Inland Water Passenger Demand for 2020 At An Average Speed of 18km/h

35

Figure 14: Total Inland Water Passenger Demand for 2025 At An Average Speed of 18km/h

36

Figure 15: Total Inland Water Passenger Demand for 2035 At An Average Speed of 18 km/h

37

Figure 16: Unprotected canal banks at Kotte Marsh Border 52

Figure 17: Water Quality status of Canals in the CMR (Source: MCUDP) 52

Figure 18: Manual collection and control of weeds 53

Figure 19: Routine fishing in Kotte canal 54

Figure 20: Boat Design for IW1 59

Figure 21: Boat Design for IW2 62

Figure 22: Guard rails for the passengers to hold to ensure safety 66

Figure 23: Protected platform for passengers to embark and disembark 67

Figure 24: Ensuring non-slippery floors 67

Figure 25: Pier designs with guard rails 68

Figure 26: Pier suitable for terminals 68

Figure 27: Headroom for passengers 69

Figure 28: Guardrails for turning 71

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

BOO- Build Own and Operate

BOOT- Build Own, Operate and Transfer

BOQ- Bill of Quantities

BOT- Build, Operate and Transfer

BRT- Bus Rapid Transit

BTO- Build, Transfer and Operate

CIDA- Construction Industry Development Authority

CMR- Colombo Metropolitan Region

DNS- Do nothing scenario

EIA- Environmental Impact Assessment

F&B- Food and beverages

FRP- Fiber Reinforced Plastic

IC- Internal Combustion

IWT- Inland Water Transport

JICA- Japan International Cooperation Agency

KIP- key performance indices

KRB- Kelani Right Bank

LRT- Light Rail Transit

Metro Colombo Urban Development Project MCUDP

MMTH- Multi- Modal Transport

MoT- Ministry of Transport

NPD- National Planning Department

PPP- Private- Public Partnership

RP- Revealed Preference

RTS- Rapid Transit System

SLLRDC- Sri Lanka Land Reclamation & Development Corporation

SP- Stated Preference

STRADA- The system for traffic demand analysis

UoM- University of Moratuwa

WRMPP- Western Region Megapolis Planning Project

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1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Project Background

Being the capital and largest city of Sri Lanka, Colombo attracts more than one million daily

commuters by 160,000 vehicles from suburbs of Colombo. Having an average annual growth

ratio of 8%, the number of vehicles in the Western Province has increased by a factor of 2.5

in 12 years. The average speed of vehicles in the major transport corridors has fallen below

10km/h in peak time. Therefore, people entering to Colombo and leaving from Colombo to

suburbs through major transport corridors face many hardships due to traffic congestion. The

wastage of valuable man hours, fuel and other resources and also the environment pollution is

unbearable. The public transportation system prevailing in the country has been unable to

find solutions to this issue due to less network capacity, less reliable travel time, discomfort,

over crowdedness in peak hour and less inter-connectivity with other modes.

The Transport Master Plan developed by the Ministry of Megapolis and Western

Development in the year 2016 identifies four prone approach to address the transport issues.

This is achieved after a comprehensive study of previous Transport Master Plans, proposed

by Western Province development structure plan.

The four-pronged approach is improvements to

1. Public transport

2. Road infrastructure development

3. Transport demand management

4. Environmental sustainable transport

The public transport and road infrastructure developments are under the following categories

with proposals spanning to be commenced from 2016 to 2025.

● A modernized bus service throughout the Western Region

● A modern and electrified railway system

● A modern Rapid Transit System (RTS) with LRT technology

● An inland water Transport service

● An improved road network connectivity

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The inland water based transportation is one of the solutions to mitigate the existing and

expected traffic congestion within the city. With respect to this, WRMPP Transport Master

Plan has identified three water transport lines. They are as follows (Please refer, Figure 1).

o Wellawatta- Battaramulla Line (IW1)

o Fort- Union Place Line (along Beire Lake) (IW2)

o Mattakkuliya- Hanwella Line (along Kelani River) (IW3)

Figure 1: WRMPP Proposed Inland Water Transport System

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Inland water transport is considered as a low cost, fuel efficient, environment friendly, less

capital needed, flexible, pleasant and a safer transportation mode compared to the other

transport modes. Similar to public bus transportation, mooring sites or marinas can be

considered and treated as 'bus stands' for boats. The canals, reservoirs or rivers where the

boats navigate can be considered as thoroughfares or bus routes. The jetties/stations where

the boats stop are similar to bus halts in road transport. The boats that are used to transport

passengers are similar to the buses that operate on roads. Use of inland waterways has the

potential to reduce the travel time drastically on certain travel corridors. Presently, there is no

proper connecting mode in the East-West direction in the Colombo region unless the

prevailing bus services cater that necessity. By using the existing canal systems, strong east-

west transport connectivity can be generated for the commuters‟ convenience.

Comfortable and safe boats will ensure a smooth comfortable ride for passengers during peak

periods, and the system can be used to promote ecotourism around the Colombo city making

this city an active and an attractive area during the off peak and the night time as well. This

will add a facet to the city‟s transport infrastructure. Boat jetties will be placed at main

linking points where the canals cross the main roads and in other places where it is necessary

in improving the accessibility and the inter connectivity between other modes.

In determining the pre-feasibility of this project, six key areas have been identified as demand

assessment, capacity identification, financial feasibility, safety, social and environmental

feasibility, legal and institutional arrangements and risk assessment. The project overall

feasibility will be assessed on the findings of these areas.

1.2 Scope

To introduce a feasible and comfortable transportation facility through an inland water based

passenger ferry service proposed by WRMPP Transport Master Plan.

1.3 Objectives

The main objective of this project is finding the feasibility of using inland waterways as a

commuter transport mode to reduce the heavy traffic congestion at main transport corridors

during the peak time. The secondary objectives of the project are:

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● Generating revenue for maintenance of urban water bodies

● Providing a resilient connecting mode in the East-West direction in the Colombo

region.

● Accommodate the water based transportation service for all the basic trip purposes;

work, education, personal, business, social and recreational.

● Reduce the travel time of the commuters travelling to the East-West direction

● Offer a safe, smooth and a comfortable transport facility for the passengers by using

identified safe and comfortable ferries.

● Use inland water transportation and its associated infrastructure to promote

ecotourism around Colombo city and make the city an active and attractive area

during off-peak hours and at night time.

● To provide an enjoyable and productive travel opportunities along with the provided

value added services at each jetty.

1.4 Justification to the selected routes IW1 and IW2

Under introducing water transport which is hitherto not in existence is a new challenge. This

is more challenging under present circumstance that no organization is directly responsible

for this type of passenger transport and present transport related law does not cover this

aspect either. However, the inland canal system is vested under the jurisdiction of SLLRDC.

SLLRDC improves and maintains this canal system as a responsibility to facilitate drainage

preventing flooding of low lying areas.

The Wellawatta-Battaramulla Canal system is under the Jurisdiction of SLLRDC whereas

Beira Lake is under the custody of Sri Lanka Ports Authority and Lake water body is under

the SLLRDC custody for water quality maintenance purpose. IW3, the Kelani River is under

the custody of Irrigation Department and there is a variety of stakeholders for the river.

Hence IW3 pre-feasibility requirements are still at the discussion stage. IW1 and IW2 water

bodies are directly managed by the SLLRDC and regular circulation and disturbance of due

to a potential ferry service helps to increase the water quality of them.

The Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development is desirous of commencing water

transport to ease the present traffic congestion. Considering the urgency, inter agency

coordination, and present jurisdiction of the other water bodies, it was decided to carry out a

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prefeasibility study on Wellawatta – Battaramulla (IW1) and Fort – Union Place(IW2)

corridors aiming to complete the study during a very short period of time and to

accommodate the implementation of the project very early, with minimum burden to the

government expenditure.

IW1 intersects six main roads including Marine Drive, Galle Road, High level Road, Baseline

Road, Nawala Road and Parliament Road out of which three of them are main transport

corridors. This is one of the interventions identified under the WRMPP that can come into

action immediately due to the fact that a detailed feasibility of the project has been conducted

in 2005, which needs updating to accommodate the present context.

The shuttle boat service proposed for the Beira Lake from Fort to Union Place (IW2) will

save a lot of time for passengers who otherwise have to use the bus service to connect these

points especially during the peak time.

Further, Wellawatta-Battaramulla Line (IW1) and Fort-Union Place Line(IW2) have the most

potential to provide an urban transport solution and will be considered as the Phase 1 of the

project while Mattakkuliya-Hanwella Line(IW3) and other potential waterways will be

considered in the Phase 2 of the project.

1.4.1 Battaramulla- Wellawatta Line (IW1)

The Colombo Metropolitan Region (CMR) consists of a network of canal systems, which

interconnects marshes and lakes in the region. These marshes and lakes act as storm water

storage centers or retention basins and hence are compulsory for flood mitigation. Other

service is purification of water coming from the urban areas. This canal path connects Kotte

Canal and Wellawatta Canal. Kotte canal starts from near Diyatha Uyana lake and ends at the

canal bifurcation (Demodara) situated just downstream of Baseline Road Bridge. It divides

into two water paths namely Wellawatte Canal to the right-hand side and the Dehiwala Canal

to the left-hand side. Wellawatte canal extends up to the sea outfall at Marine Drive,

Wellawatte which is the proposed destination of IW1.

The Kotte canal flows along the border of Kotte Marsh and the canal banks is earthen up to

Nawala “Wali Park”. This stretch 6.1km long and has an average width of 35m with

trapezoidal cross section. From “Weli Park” to Wellawatte canal covers a length of 4.5km

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with an average width of 25m. The canal bank protection type varies from earthen Gabion to

sheet pile protected. Certain canal banks are protected with Riprap protections. The canal

cross section of this stretch is rectangular. The bed level of the entire canal stretch is

maintained at -1m MSL by SLLRDC for flood water management purpose. The bottom of

Gabion wall is fixed at -2m MSL.

Despite the variety of uses and services of the canal network, the potential for recreational

and passenger transportation has been identified by the newly published (2016) Wetland

Management Strategy conducted by SLLRDC for Colombo catchment. Also, according to the

feasibility study done by University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka in 2006, the existing Wellawatte

canal and Kotte canal up to Battaramulla has a navigable channel of 8.3km in length from

Diyawanna Oya up to the Marine Drive at Wellawatte. It passes through major roads such as

Galle Road, Duplication Road, Baseline Road, High-level Road, Sri Jayawardenapura

Mawatha etc. which carries considerable amount of traffic. Therefore, this canal would be

developed as a potential waterway for public transport as it acts as a transverse connector link

for the radial road network connecting to the city of Colombo (Refer Figure 2 for IW1).

Furthermore, this canal stretch will be extended up to Koswatta, Battaramulla via

Diyawannawa Lake along the proposed sea-plane landing area, to cover more congested

areas around Battaramulla.

Figure 2:Wellawatta-Battaramulla(IW1) Line

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1.4.2 Fort-Union Place Line(IW2)

The Beira Lake is a both historically and socio-economically important water body in Sri

Lanka, which was created by the Portuguese in 1518 for defense and transport purposes. The

Lake comprises of five sub parts connected to ten municipal wards in Colombo and covers

nearly 65 ha with a mean water depth of 2.0 m. East Beira, the main water body, West Beira,

South West Beira, Floating Market area and the small fragmented area, the finger section

(refer Figure 3) are the above said sections. All these sections are highly commercialized and

urbanized especially with the working population. The East Beira is surrounded by D.R.

Wijewardene Mawatha from the North, T.B. Jayah Mawatha from the East, Kew Road from

the South and Sir Ciththampalam A. Gardiner Mawatha from the West and these roads carry

huge traffic during peak hours.

Figure 3:Parts of Beira Lake

Existing and planned urban development in Colombo will carry further local and foreign

crowds to the Colombo city and hence catering to their transportation, recreational and

hospitality requirement is a top urgency. In fact, the waterfront of the heart of the Colombo

City, the Beira lake and its surroundings provides an ideal ground for this and the

Government of Sri Lanka wishes to implement such projects efficiently and effectively to

give the maximum benefit. The inland water transport line given in figure 4 from the Lake

House (McCallum Gate) to Union Place across the Beira Lake is such identified route for

passenger transportation by the Western Region Megapolis Planning Project and the

feasibility study thus becomes a top requirement for its long-term sustainability.

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Figure 4: Fort-Union Place Line

1.4.3 Mattakkuliya-Hanwella Line

Mattakkuliya- Hanwella Line has a high potential to provide an alternate mode for the Low-

Level corridor where the public transport is poor. Kelani River is the second largest river in

Sri Lanka. Kelani River and its tributaries provides 70% of the portable and industrial water

requirements for the people in Greater Colombo area. Starting from the Sri Pada mountain

range, it flows in the western direction and falls to the sea at Modara. Along the river stretch

from Mattakkuliya to Hanwella which is 35.7 km, Kelani River flows through main cities

such as Peliyagoda, Kelaniya, Kaduwela and Malwana. The stream velocity ranges between

0.15m/s to 0.6m/s in the dry season and it can rise up to 0.9m/s to 2.0m/s after heavy rains.

Environmental impacts from the system have to be considered as the main water intakes;

water intake at Ambatale and Kelani Right Bank (KRB) water intake is located along the

Kelani River. Introducing an environmental friendly boat type such as solar powered boats or

hybrid boats is very important for this line to maintain the quality of water.

9

Figure 5: Mattakkuliya-Hanwella Line

Except the identified three routes IW1, IW2 and IW3 the other waterways are also can be

considered for passenger transportation, after a proper feasibility study.

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2. APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY

Overall approach of feasibility study is based on five pillars as given below;

i. Demand assessment

ii. Structural capacity assessment

iii. Environmental feasibility

iv. Legal and safety needs assessment

v. Financial feasibility

The data collection and analysis of these aspects were done iteratively to decide the final

project outputs. Baseline review of these secondary data identified further data needs which

are to be filled through formal surveys and other possible ways. The expert recommendations

are given by amalgamating the findings with project needs. Finally, best fit PPP model is

presented to run the project while necessary boat operation plans, infrastructure designs and

modifications and a risk profile of the project are presented.

Figure 6: Pre-feasibility Study Model

2.1 Transport Demand Assessment

2.1.1 Initial Demand Assessment

Initial Transport Demand Assessment is taken from the demand estimation done as part of the

Transport Master Plan developed for the Western Region Megapolis Planning Project.

Therefore, the content is unless specified is extracted from the said report above.

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The STRADA (The system for traffic demand analysis) transport demand model that was

used for WRMPP employs a traditional four step modelling process widely used in the world.

STRADA developed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is one of the

widely-used software in the world for demand projections, especially for traffic assignment.

The software is a window based package where the development started in 1993 by JICA

under the leadership of Prof. Hideo Nakamura at Tokyo University with other experts in

relevant fields. The software consists of 17 individual modules. In the transport demand

analysis exercise JICA STRADA version 3 was used for trip assignment of present transport

demand and future forecast. The flow of the analysis is shown in figure 7.

Figure 7: Process of the analysis for present and future demand forecast

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The socio demographic forecasts based on urban development projects and urban planning

policies including transit oriented development were considered to estimate residential

population, employed population and student population by income level which were used in

the trip generation model and distributed to come up with the origin destination tables by trip

purpose and income level.

The close relationship between road traffic and public transport were taken in to account in

the demand forecast in addition to the conventional four step modelling. It was determined

that relationships such as bus travel speeds been dependent on the congestion level of the

roads and slow travel speeds of private vehicles contributing to the mode shift to rail based

transport were important, therefore two stages of road assignment and two stages of transit

assignment were conducted account for the above relationships. This was basically a looping

of the model with a second iteration been done with impedance tables, initial link speeds and

initial bus volumes on roads were considered for a second iteration of model split and second

road and transit assignment. The model parameters were estimated using Household Activity

Surveys, SP and RP surveys conducted as part of the project. The model was calibrated to

match the observed volumes on screen lines.

The complete details of model specification and parameters can be found in Technical Report

5: Transport Demand Forecast, Urban Transport System Development Project for Colombo

Metropolitan Region and Suburbs.

The demand forecasting using the JICA STRADA model was completed under several

project scenarios for the analysis years 2020, 2025 and 2035 with different transport network

improvements been commissioned in different years. The JICA STRADA model that was

used for demand estimation of the ComTrans Master Plan and WRMPP Transport Master

Plan will be used in this study as well for demand estimation purposes.

The key performance indices (KPI) were developed and compared with a Do-Nothing

Scenario (DNS) which included all ongoing projects. The DNS was considered for each

future year as the base case to identify the indirect benefit for the economic analysis. DNS

was considered as a good starting point to determine the best project although DNS inflates

the benefit since any intervention becomes a solution. The following scenarios were analyzed

with different implementation methodology of projects identified in the Master Plan as

outlined in the figure 8.

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Scenario 1: Do-Nothing Scenario (DNS) for Year 2020

Scenario 2: Case A (Project Case) for Year 2020

Scenario 3: Do-Nothing Scenario (DNS) for Year 2025

Scenario 4: Case A for Year 2025

Scenario 5: Case B (Project Case) for Year 2025

Scenario 6: Case C for Year 2025

Scenario 7: Do-Nothing Scenario (DNS) for Year 2035

Scenario 8: Case A for Year 2035

Scenario 9: Case B for Year 2035

Scenario 10: Case C for Year 2035

Scenario 11: Case D (Project Case) for Year 2035

Scenario 12: Case E for Year 2035

Figure 8: Analysis of the Megapolis Transport Demand Project Scenarios

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As indicated three water transport lines were identified and coded as part of the modeling

process. Following jetty locations were considered as part of the initial demand estimation at

Master Plan Level.

Wellawatte – Battarmulla Line (IW1)

1. Marine drive – Wellawatte/(1-ST1)

2. St. Peters College (In between Dupliation Road and Galle Road (1-ST2)

3. Havelock Road near Royal Institute (1-ST3)

4. Baseline Bridge (1-ST4)

5. Open University Bridge (1-ST5)

6. Bridge at Nawala Road (1-ST6)

7. Diyatha Uyana (1-ST7)

8. Sethsiripaya (1-ST8)

Fort- Union Place Line (IW2)

1. Lake House (2-ST1)

2. Fort Railway Station (MMTH) (2-ST2)

3. Lotus Tower (2-ST3)

4. Union Place (2-ST4)

The model is a daily assignment model which provides daily segment volumes along with

other KPIs. The following operational parameters given in the table 1, as well as operational

speed for the IW1 and IW2 were assumed for modeling.

Table 1: Parameters for IW1 and IW2

Parameter IW1 IW2

Fare

Fixed (first 1km)

Per km

Rs.12 Rs.10

Rs.4 --

Frequency (per direction) 30 Boats/hr 30 Boats/hr

Boat Capacity 50 Pax 50 Pax

15

The IW1 fare considered has a variable cost based on distance. The first km is charged at a

cost of Rs. 12 and then Rs4/km charge for the remaining distance. The IW2 fare is a flat rate

of Rs 10 irrespective of number of stations or distance a passenger travel. (Refer Figure 9)

Figure 9: Fare for IW1

According to the above operational fare considered in the IW1 for modelling, a ticket fare

matrix can be developed as follows in the table 2, which gives the ticket fare from one station

to another. The fares are given in Rupees.

Table 2: Fare for IW1

1-ST1 1-ST2 1-ST3 1-ST4 1-ST5 1-ST6 1-ST7 1-ST8 1-ST9

1-ST1 12 13.2 18 20 23.2 39.2 43.2 50.4

1-ST2 12 12 16 18 21.2 37.2 41.2 48.4

1-ST3 13.2 12 12.8 14.8 18 34 38 45.2

1-ST4 18 16 12.8 12 13.2 29.2 33.2 40.4

1-ST5 20 18 14.8 12 12 27.2 31.2 38.4

1-ST6 23.2 21.2 18 13.2 12 24 28 35.2

1-ST7 39.2 37.2 34 29.2 27.2 24 12 19.2

1-ST8 43.2 41.2 38 33.2 31.2 28 12 15.2

1-ST9 50.4 48.4 45.2 40.4 38.4 35.2 19.2 15.2

16

The summary of the STRADA modelling outputs for each of the scenarios provided

parameters for measurement of KPI for the entire multimodal transport system and

performance across the CMR. The following scenarios, out of the scenarios given in the

figure 8, were considered as project scenarios for future years 2020, 2025 and 2035 and were

used for further analysis and detail demand outputs.

Project Scenario For the Year 2020:- Scenario 2: Case A (Project Case)

Project Scenario For the Year 2025:- Scenario 5: Case B (Project Case)

Project Scenario For the Year 2035:- Scenario 11: Case D (Project Case)

The Scenario 11 (Project Case D) in the year 2035 comprise all of the interventions given in

the Master Plan and Scenario 2 (Project Case A) in the year 2020 and Scenario 5 (Project

Case B) in the year 2025 are intermediate level of completion of the project as outlined in the

Master plan.

The average operational speed of the boat was considered as 25 km/h for the masterplan

analysis and the projected demand in IW1 and IW2 for future years 2020, 2025 and 2035 are

shown in the following figures 10,11 and 12 respectively.

17

Figure 10: Total Inland Water Transport Passenger Volume for 2020 for Scenario 2

18

Figure 11: Total Inland Water Passenger Demand for 2025 for Scenario 5

19

Figure 12: Total Inland Water Passenger Demand for 2035 for Scenario 11

20

In summary, station to station projected demand for Battaramulla- Wellawatte Line (IW1)

and Fort- Union Place Line (IW2) at an average operating speed of 25kmph are as follows.

Table 3: Daily bi-directional passenger volume for Wellawatte-Battaramulla Line (IW1) for Scenario 2,5 & 11

Table 4: Daily bi-directional passenger volume for Fort-Union Place Line (IW2) for Scenario 2,5 & 11

The summary of the STRADA modelling outputs for each of the scenarios outlined above is

provided in term of the following parameters for measurement of KPI for the entire

multimodal transport system and performance across the CMR.

● Scenario – Described in above

● Total trips per day – total estimated trips by each mode for each year in the CMR

● Total Public transport trips

● Total Car trips

● Total motorcycle (MC) trips

● Total three-wheeler (3W) trips

● Total Truck Trips

● Vehicle km per day - Total daily vehicle kms estimated to be made by each mode in

the CMR.

● Passenger km per day – Total number of passenger km estimated to be made per day

in the CMR.

● Trip length – the average trip length in km

21

● Passenger hrs per day – the total number of passenger hours spent in transport per day

in CMR.

● Average speed- the Average speed by mode within the CMR.

● Capital Cost- The capital costs of proposed interventions.

● The system cost is the total estimated transport cost per year in the CMR made up for

the cost components.

o Vehicle Operating Costs – Speed based operating costs for road based on

National Planning Department (NPD), Cost of LRT and railway from

ComTrans study

o Value of Time Costs – values determined by NPD in 1999 and updated and

used in Colombo Metropolitan Region Transport Master Plan (MoT/UoM

Study).

o Accident Costs - values determined by NPD in 1999 and updated and used in

Colombo Metropolitan Region Transport Master Plan (MoT/UoM Study).

o Emission Costs - values determined by NPD and updated and used in

Colombo Metropolitan Region Transport Master Plan (MoT/UoM Study).

22

Table 5: Aggregate Outputs of Demand Model for Megapolis Project Scenarios

23

2.1.2 Updated Demand Assessment

The initial demand estimation was done with scenarios considered under the Megapolis

Masterplan development where the speed of the boats was assumed as 25 km/h. However, it

was decided that the maximum permitted speed of the boats on the Wellawatte Canal in

particularly is 7 to 10 knots (13 km/h to 18.5 km/h) because of the strength of the canal

banks. Considering that passenger demand is directly correlated with the speed of the boats

and the demand loss is not nonlinear, the modelling was done again for the same project

scenarios, same fare, but at an operational speed of 18 km/h. In addition, an additional jetty

location at Koswatte (1-ST9) for IW1 was identified making it 9 jetty locations for IW1. The

complete lists of jetty location are as follows.

Wellawatte – Battarmulla Line (IW1)

1. Marine drive – Wellawatte/(1-ST1)

2. St.Peters College (In between Duplication Road and Galle Road (1-ST2)

3. Havelock Road near Royal Institute (1-ST3)

4. Baseline Bridge (1-ST4)

5. Open University Bridge (1-ST5)

6. Bridge at Nawala Road (1-ST6)

7. Diyatha Uyana (1-ST7)

8. Sethsiripaya (1-ST8)

9. Koswatta (1-ST9)

Fort- Union Place Line (IW2)

1. Lake House (2-ST1)

2. Fort Railway Station (MMTH) (2-ST2)

3. Lotus Tower (2-ST3)

4. Union Place (2-ST4)

The following figures 13, 14 and 15 illustrate the projected demand for both lines IW1 and

IW2 for the years 2020, 2025 and 2035 respectively at an average operating speed of 18km/h.

24

Figure 13:Total Inland Water Passenger Demand for 2020 At An Average Speed of 18km/h

25

Figure 14: Total Inland Water Passenger Demand for 2025 At An Average Speed of 18km/h

26

Figure 15: Total Inland Water Passenger Demand for 2035 At An Average Speed of 18 km/h

27

Travel time and speed are 2 critical factors which affect the demand of a transport mode.

When speed decreases, time of travel increases and therefore a reduction in the demand can

be seen when the operational speed drops to 18km/h. A summary of the demand volumes

given in the figures 13, 14 and 15 are listed in the table 6 and 7 below.

Table 6: Daily bi-directional Passenger Volumes for IW1 at an average speed of 18km/h

Table 7: Daily bi-directional Passenger Volume for IW2 at an average speed of 18km/h

In addition, the station to station demand can be estimated. However, it should be noted that

care should be taken when using the numbers as the JICA STRADA model that has been

used has calibrated for master plan level and such finer level of information should be used

with caution. (Refer table 8 and 9)

28

Table 8: Station to Station Demands forIW1 for Years 2020, 2025 and 2035 for updated demand analysis

29

Table 9: Station to Station Demands forIW2 for Years 2020, 2025 and 2035 for updated demand analysis

2.2 The Ferry Requirement

The number of boats required for operation is a function of the headway of the service, the

capacity of the boat and the stoppage time at the jetties. The round-trip time for IW1 is

approximately 100 minutes with operation speed of 18km/h and 30-minute total stoppage

time at jetties. The Table 10 shows the number of fleet required for operations of the service

for IW1. For example, if 10 min frequency is provided (6 boat trips per hour per direction)

provides a bidirectional passenger capacity of 600 passengers per hour (with 50 passengers

per boat). The total number of fleet would be 10 boats.

Table 10: Fleet Requirement for IW1

Headway of the boat(min)

No: of boat trips per hour per direction

Round Trip Total time(min)

Req. Total Fleet Size

Bi-directional Passenger Capacity per hour

5 12 100.6 20 1200

10 6 100.6 10 600

15 4 100.6 7 400

20 3 100.6 5 300

30 2 100.6 4 200

Round trip time includes travel time plus stoppage time at jetties

30

The navigational path in Fort-Union Place line(IW2) is 2km in length and it has a round trip

time of 24 minutes with an operation speed of 18km/h and 11-minute stoppage time at jetties.

The table 11 given below provides the fleet requirement needed for IW2 for different

headways between boats.

Table 11: Fleet requirement for IW2

Headway of the boat(min)

No: of boat trips per hour per direction

Round Trip Total time(min)

Req. Total Fleet Size

Bi-directional Passenger Capacity per hour

5 12 24 5 1200

10 6 24 3 600

15 4 24 2 400

20 3 24 2 300

If 15-minute (4 boat trips per hour per direction) frequency is provided, it will cater a total bi-

directional capacity of 400 passengers per hour (with 50 passengers per boat). Then it would

need one boat per direction.

2.3 Start-up Demand for 2017

The operation of the service is considered for year 2017, therefore an estimation of the

demands for starting year is important. Further, the year 2020 estimates in the previous

section is with consideration of other major infrastructures such as railway electrification and

LRT lines in operation. The demand would be much higher if the other public transport

developments are not operational. However, the model is not setup to estimate year 2017

therefore a scenario was run to estimate year 2020 with only IW1 and IW2 been operational.

Table 12 and Table 13 shows the demands for year 2020 with only inland water transport in

operation and start up 2017 demand has been estimated as 20% of the year 2020 demand,

where only IW1 and IW2 will be implemented without the other projects outlined in the

Masterplan.

31

Table 12: Year 2017 Demand for IW1

Table 13: Year 2017 Demand for IW2

32

3. STRUCTURAL CAPACITY IDENTIFICATION OF RELATED WATER

BODIES

3.1 Current Infrastructure Status of Wellawatte- Battaramulla Line (IW1)

The canal stretch from Battaramulla to Wellawatta can be segmented into two as Kotte Canal

(8730 m) and Wellawatta Canal (1886 m). This route passes several overhead structures, nine

(9) Highway Bridges, two (2) Railway culverts, one (1) Railway Line and two (2) water lines.

The Baseline Bridge and Open University Bridge near Lanka Walltiles has the minimum

overhead height and it was considered in determining the maximum permitted boat height.

The soffit levels of overhead structures are given in Table 14.

Table 14: Soffit levels of overhead structures along the IW1

Location Overhead Structure type Soffit level (m MSL)

1-ST1: Wellawatta Marine

Drive

Bridge 2.850

Railway Culvert (New) 2.654

Railway Culvert (Old) 2.535

1-ST2: Wellawatta, Galle

Road

Bridge 6.363

1-ST2: Wellawatta,

Duplication Road

Bridge 3.946

Water Line 4.037

1-ST3: Havelock Road Bridge 2.388 to 3.345

1-ST4: Base Line Road Bridge 2.606

Railway line 4.03

1-ST5: Open University,

Near Lanka Walltiles

Bridge 2.550

1-ST6: Open University,

176 Road

Bridge 3.266 to 4.096

1-ST7: Sri Jayawardenapura Bridge 3.715

33

Mawatha, Near Dominos

Pizza

Water Pipes 2.755

Polduwa Bridge Bridge 4.044

Source: Survey conducted by SLLRDC for the current study

Use of IW1 for passenger transportation was started in 2011 by Sri Lanka Navy with the

assistance of Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation. It was targeted to

cater the transport needs of the students of Open University at Nawala, Nugegoda to

Wellawatte and extended the service from Wellawatta to Battaramulla along the Kirulapone

Canal. Several jetties were constructed to facilitate the passenger transportation as well as to

provide the access for the canal and bank maintenance purposes. The WRMPP has identified

8 jetty locations. Later it was extended up to 9 pier locations considering Koswatta,

Battaramulla.

3.2 Land availability for boat stations and other development

3.2.1 IW1

Jetty locations were selected by considering the existing and prospective land uses, passenger

demand accessibility to the land and land availability. The land ownership is either state or

private (refer Table 15). The state-owned lands are either under the custody of SLLRDC (for

retention or development purposes) or UDA owned. In brief, expected land blocks at ST2,

ST3, ST5 and ST6 jetties are under the SLLRDC custody while ST7 and ST8 are under the

custody UDA. Land acquisitions should be done for ST1, ST4 and ST9 as there are no

available state lands around. Therefore, it is recommended to initiate the implementation of

said project at SLLRDC owned locations and gradually expand to the other areas as well.

34

Table 15: Summary of land ownership of proposed jetty locations

Jetty Location Land

ownership

Land

extent

(Perch)

Current land use

Wellawatte (Marine Drive) / (1-

ST1)

Private, (need to

acquire the

Canal bank

reservation)

4 Railway station, Beach

wadiya, KFC,

Kandoori, Ozo, Global

towers, Hotel and

Apartment

Next to St. Peter‟s College (1-ST2)

State (Canal

bank

reservation)

100 St. Peters College,

Kingston College

International, BCAS

City Campus, Muslim

Ladies College, Hindu

College, Golden Gate

(Restaurant), St Peters

and Cooray Grounds

Hawlock Bridge (1-ST3)

State (Canal

bank

reservation)

35 Havelock city,

Lumbini College,

Royal Institute, Amal

International School,

Isipathana College,

Royal Burger

(restaurant), CCC,

Hendry (grounds),

Badra Kali amman

Kovil

35

Baseline Bridge (1-ST4)

no available

lands, need

acquisition/

recommends

floating jetties

- Lanka Hospitals, IPM,

Sakura Restaurant Tea

Talk, Hotel Sansu

(Restaurant), Shalika

Grounds, Govt Service

Sports Club, Sri Maha

Bodi Vihara

Open University Bridge (1-ST5)

State (Canal

bank

reservation)

11 Open University

Hostel, ETF Board

Nawala Bridge/ (1-ST6)

State (Canal

bank

reservation)

40 Open University

Entrance, Chinese

Dragon Café, Tile

shops

Ethul Kotte Bridge (1-ST7)

State (Canal

bank

reservation)

20 Waters‟ Edge Park,

KFC, Café Beverly,

Freshies, Fashion Bug,

Residencies:

Lakewind, Diyawanna

Sethsiripaya (1-ST8) State (UDA) 100

perch

Sethsiripaya, Dept of

Immigration and

36

Emigration,

Koswatta/ (1-ST9)

Private (need to

acquire the

Canal bank

reservation),

recommend

Floating Jetties

20 perch Asoka College

Playground,

Diyawanna Rowing

Club

Initiation of jetty construction at five SLLRDC owned locations will helpful for rapid

implementation of the project while the necessary agreements between UDA and land

acquisition should start immediately to run the project smoothly without interruptions.

Since the distance between Galle Road and Duplication Road along the Wellawatta canal is

nearly 300m, it is proposed to construct a common jetty (1-ST2) to give the access to both the

roads. Further, a pedestrian should be introduced along the canal bank of Right Bank to link

the said two main roads.

The Bathymetric Survey conducted in this canal stretch has revealed that approximately

75,000 m3 should be dredged to maintain the -1 m MSL bed level (Annex 1).

3.2.2 Water level limitations along IW1

According to the water level variation, Open University Bridge location and Wellawatta

Bridge location are critical, because Wellawatta has the most frequently recorded

minimum water level (+0.1 m MSL) and Open University bridge has the minimum soffit

level (+2.55 m MSL). According to the water level variation for 2015 to 2016 (Table 16)

the boat service may not available for a total of 40 days per year.

37

Table 16 Flood level frequency

Flood Level Range (m

MSL) Frequency (days/year)

At St. Peters Wellawatte Open University(near

Lanka Walltiles)

Below 0.1 2 0

0.1-0.19 27 30

0.2-0.29 145 99

0.3-0.39 123 129

0.4-0.49 48 77

0.5-0.59 11 8

0.6-0.69 6 12

0.7-0.79 2 6

0.8-0.89 0 3

Above 0.9 1 1

3.2.3 IW2

Being located at the heart of the Colombo city, Beira Lake especially the East Lake has

created a booming demand on the lake and its waterfront for using for commuter

transportation and recreational activities. Along the IW2, there are 4 decided jetty locations.

These locations will be developed as align with Beira Lake Restoration Master Planning

Project. The said project has identified most effective land use to the area (Please refer Figure

16).

38

3.3 Suggestions for an effective transport solution along IW1

The sustainability of any passenger transportation project depends on the right access to the

passenger needs. Such needs are mostly the main requirements such as access to information,

food and beverage, communication opportunities, access to Fast- moving Consumer Goods

etc. Table 17 summarizes the possible commercial activities which could be introduced to

facilitate the water based passenger transportation.

Table 17: Proposed commercial developments along IW1

Station Name Land

Availa

bility

(Perch

)

Statio

n

Service Center

Foo

d

Cou

rt

Mini/

Supe

r

Mark

et

AT

M

Washro

oms/

Restroo

ms

Informa

tion

Center

Boo

ksh

op

Texti

le

Shop

Salo

n

Phot

ocop

y

Cent

er Marine Drive 4 1-ST1 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ St. Peters (Galle Road and

Duplication

Road)

100 1-ST2 √ √ √ √ √ √

Havlock 35 1-ST3 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ Baseline - 1-ST4 √ √ √ Open University 40 1-ST5 √ √

Nawala 11 1-ST6 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √

Diyath Uyana 20 1-ST7 √ √ √

Sethsiripaya 100 1-ST8 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ Koswatta 20 1-ST9 √ √

3.4 Initial Environmental and Social Assessment

3.4.1 Environmental impacts of Inland water based passenger transportation

Water is a scarce resource in the country and thus use of water for transportation is difficult

to justify. But IWT is considered as a most environment friendly mode of transport compared

to other modes of transport. The main reason for this is the low fuel usage and low pollution

from emissions. Water based transportation could be made into a benign form of

transportation through the adoption of appropriate environmental safeguards. Since the

transportation will take place within existing canal system there will be minimal social

impacts due to involuntary relocation of people. The potential environmental issues related to

water transportation can be mainly categorized as follows.

39

1. Bank Erosion:

2. Habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation

3. Species disturbance and displacement.

4. Pollution

Further the pollution occurs by the water based transportation can be classified as operational

oil pollution, solid waste disposal, accidental spills, air pollution, pollution occur at port and

channel construction maintenance and threat to non-indigenous aquatic species

The adoption of precautionary measures for each of the above-mentioned impacts is

relatively simple and straightforward.

Regulatory Requirements on Environment: Depending on the components of the proposed

project an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) or Initial Environmental Examination

(IEE) may be required to be carried out according to the Terms of Reference issued by the

Central Environmental Authority. As the potential environmental issues arising from the

project are minimal and not of a serious nature, an Initial Environmental Examination will

suffice for this purpose. However, the final decision in this regard has to be made by the

Central Environmental Authority.

There are several ways in which the project could be made environmentally friendly. These

include the use of solar powered boats or electric boats rather than using diesel powered

boats. This will minimize the risk of oil spills and the attendant oil pollution of the canals.

The use of solar power will also reduce the Carbon Footprint of the project as a whole

thereby making it attractive to visitors and tourists in particular.

Proper management of waste arising from the activities including the large number of the

public using the facility is crucial. Arrangements should be made to have sufficient waste

disposal receptacles at all boat stations as well as inside the boats. Facilities should be

available for waste separation, and plastic, glass, paper and biodegradable waste including

food waste should be collected in separate bins thus enabling recycling of such waste.

It is also essential that the optimum number of boats and passengers allowed within the canal

system be decided after careful consideration of the carrying capacity of the environment.

The maximum allowable speed of the boats should also be strictly enforced in order to ensure

40

safety of the passengers as well as to minimize damage to the canal banks. During the field

visits, it was noted that the canal bank along the border of Kotte Marsh remains earthen and

unprotected. In fact, such banks should be protected with soft engineering techniques and

riprap bank construction methods.

Figure 16: Unprotected canal banks at Kotte Marsh Border

Along IW1, the Kotte Canal up to Nawala Open University (1-ST6) has a quite good water

quality while from Nawala (1-ST6) to Wellawatta (1-ST1) canal is fed with many waste

water inlets.

41

Figure 17: Water Quality status of Canals in the CMR (Source: MCUDP)

The whole IW1 canal stretch is occasionally covered by floating weeds (Alien Invasive

plants) such as Eichhornia crassipes, Salvinia molesta, and Hydrilla Spp. The SLLRDC

currently manage such weeds manually by collecting. Continuous circulation of water body

will hinder the growth of such species in the canal.

Figure 18 : Manual collection and control of weeds

42

3.4.2 Social impacts of Inland water based passenger transportation project

Being located in a highly-urbanized area, the IW1 route passes through a wide range of land

uses from residential to commercial, state to private land ownerships, from organized to

unorganized settlements etc. At present this canal stretch near Kotte Marsh is used for small

scale fishing and such activities might be disrupted due to the excessive use of canals for

passenger ferries. Also, the wake and sound produced by the ferries will be a disturbance to

the residence at water front. therefore, it is recommended to develop community groups to get

them involved with the project as project benefits are shared among them as well. These

benefits might be the security facilities, water quality improvements or may be the

opportunities for new commercial endeavor.

Figure 19: Routine fishing in Kotte canal

3.5 Preliminary ferry designs and specifications

The preliminary findings and problems encountered to develop preliminary designs and

specifications were evaluated under,

● Boat designing and constructions

● Loading unloading points, Pier construction and crossing bridges construction

43

3.5.1 Boat Design

Demand assessment, boat type and capacity identification and economic analysis are

interrelated and iterative. It was necessary to determine the preliminary dimensions of the

boats based on economic analysis in order to minimize boat fair within the constraints like

canal width, water depth, underneath clearances of the bridges etc. Therefore, the following

information were considered for designing the boat.

a. Route distance, number loading and unloading points and their distances.

b. Maximum speed of operation

c. Water depth profile and whether dredging is needed based on bathymetric survey

d. Draft limitation based on loading capacity

e. Boats propeller type (inboard propelled or outboard propelled)

f. Fuel type (Diesel of Petrol)

g. Direct engine power for propelling or hybrid power system

h. Whether limit the transportation up to Open University depending on underneath

clearance of the Open University Bridge.

i. Need of an adjustable roof and minimum roof height to be maintained

j. Whether Air conditioning is possible with adjustable roof.

k. Maximum allowable length of the boats depending on maneuverability requirement

l. Availability of passengers whether to consider peak hour‟s passenger flow separately

or assumption of constant passenger flow throughout the day.

m. Cost of insurance depending on the boat size and number of passengers

n. Whether the hull to be Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) or steel.

o. Safety equipment to be carried in the boat.

3.5.2 Design approach to boat‟s capacity estimation

3.5.2.1 Preliminary dimensions

Option I

Usually in maritime transportation and analysis, capacity of a vessel is determined based on

vessel‟s design model integrated with transportation model as the economic size of a vessel

will depends on

44

● Route and port characteristics (Route distance, number of ports, loading unloading

time)

● Passenger availability (Limited or unlimited)

● Number of vessel intend to operate

● Dimensional variables (Length, Breadth, Depth etc.)

● Fuel and Insurance cost etc.

Capacity required to carry certain number of passengers can be defined by the length, breadth

and depth of the boats. However, their exact dimensions would affect the costs of building

and operation in the following way.

1. Length

Building cost is proportional to the length of a vessel and at the same time length x breadth

can be proportional to the number of passenger that can be carried. As the length/ breadth

ratio increases water resistance per unit weight decreases whereas increase in same ratio

weaken the stability of the vessel. At the same time length of the vessel can be limited based

on available canal breadth for easy maneuverability.

2. Breadth

Decrease in breadth is beneficial in reducing the resistance to operate and has to be limited

depending on the minimum stability requirement. At the same time, it is advisable to take the

number of lane of seated passengers and canal breadth into consideration and decide on the

breadth of the boat for comfortable maneuverability and cost effectiveness.

3. Draft and Depth

Operating draft has to be limited as the canal depth is around 1.5m. Further the stability will

depend on the operating draft as well. Increase in depth will increase the center of gravity of

the vessel and again weaken the stability. Therefore, correct hull form has to be selected

based on the numbers accommodation deck intended to design. For canal operation number

of accommodation deck has to limited to one and at the same time it has to be as low as

possible because of the underneath clear height of bridges.

However, for Beira lake operation, catamaran hull with two deck accommodation can be

considered as a more economical design. Catamaran hull would give additional stability even

45

with increase in number of decks and also less resistance.

4. Modeling

When total cost (building and operating cost) is modeled with basic dimensions (based on

number of passengers) as variables, the optimum dimensions can be found for minimum

operating boat fare within the constraints like stability requirements and route port

characteristics. Passenger availability, fuel cost, insurance cost, maintenance cost would also

become part of the operating cost model. In this analysis, maximum operating speed can be

limited as this would affect canal bank erosion.

Number of trips per annum/ day will depend on the number of stations/jetties and the time of

boarding and alighting and also on the availability of passengers. Number of trip per day will

also be directly proportional to the revenue. Therefore, optimum boat size and its dimensions

could be determined to minimize boat fare. At the same time influence of uncertain

parameters like fuel cost, insurance, availability of passengers could also be further studied

for future.

Option II

Maximum number of passengers to be carried in a boat can be fixed to 30 or 40 and the

vessel‟s dimensions can be found to minimize the boat fare. This option would be easy to

arrive at dimensional variable with less calculation.

3.5.2.2 Design and Construction of the boat

a. Hull design

Type of hull will depend on the basic dimensions selected and the number of accommodation

deck and any other constraints as mentioned above.

For Battaramulla- Wellawatte Canal - A single hull, shallow draft, narrow boat will be

suitable based on the canal characteristics and limitations. As the clear height between water

level and underneath bridges are limited around 7 ft, catamaran vessels cannot be used as the

vessel height become more than 9 ft due to the floor of the boat has to be placed over the

deck. The most suitable hull type would be single hull with straight sides in order not to

develop excessive waves when boat is moving. The bottom can be almost flat with very low

deadrise angle. Shape of the hull is recommended to be semi-displacement with round bilges.

In this case floor of the boat can be below the waterline so that boat height above the

46

waterline can be minimized.

For Beire Lake a double hull catamaran vessel can be utilized as there is no limitation on the

boat height. Catamaran hull has advantages over the single hull on stability and deck area of

the vessel. However, floor of the boat would be above two hulls. Vessel can de designed to

carry more passengers with two narrow hull that minimizes resistance to movement and with

very good stability. Roof top can also be used for standing passengers when there is no rain.

The minimum boat height would be around 11 ft and part of the hull above waterline could

be more than 8ft.

b. Hull material

Steel hull can be constructed as one-off construction. Usually steel is corrosive but can be

controlled with application of epoxy marine paints. If the hull to be constructed with FRP, a

mould has to be developed and constructed. Steel hulls heavier than FRP hull and resistive to

damages due bang on piers and banks. FRP hull is more prone to damages than steel hull but

non-corrosive. Aluminium can also be used as hull material but the cost of construction may

be slightly higher compared to FRP.

c. Interior Design

Interior design should be made so attractive to passengers and hence stained hardwood

designs may be low cost and easily constructive. But the weight is considerable compare to

any other material. There are other options like use of veneer board with plywood and also

FRP boards also suggested.

Seats can be made out FRP so that those are resistive to water ingress. The other option is to

fix cushion seats with non-soaking material for cushions with water resistive fabric covers.

Framing of the cushion seats may be with stainless steel tubes.

There has to be neat lavatory facilities in the boat with storage for waste collection. Floor of

the boat should be non-slippery even when the floor is wet.

3.5.2.3 Engine and Propelling System

a. IC Engines

Engines can be either inboard mounted or outboard mounted. Outboard mounted engines are

lighter and small compared with inboard engines of same power. Outboard engines operate

either on petrol or kerosene. Inboard engines are heavy and work on diesel fuel. Transom

47

shape of the boat would also depend on the kind of engine to be mounted, influence of flue

gas and carbon emission need to be taken into consideration as well.

b. Electrical Motor Driven

Propellers can be driven by electrical motors and need to have power generation unit in the

boats. This would give rise to less emission if the generator is run at a one constant speed to

generate the power. Motor speed control unit should be reliable to have uninterrupted

operation. This method can lead to less sound pollution.

c. Roof

As already envisage, adjustable roof to be fitted with the boat in order to adjust the roof

height when boat passes underneath some of the bridges. This mechanism is possible with

hydraulic system to lift and lower the roof when necessary. This system should operate

smoothly and can be fitted with adjustable stainless steel tubes to support the roof. Roof

material can be either FRP or aluminum sheets strength with necessary stiffeners.

d. Air Conditioning

Air conditioning will be easily possible with adjustable roofing arrangement and hence

recommend to build the prototype as non-AC boat.

e. Safety equipment

Life jackets should be available underneath of the seat or in front of the seats. Number of life

jackets should be adequate and additionally there has to be sufficient number of life rings.

The proposed model of the monohulled boat for Wellawatte- Battaramulla Line (IW1) and its

specifications are shown in figure 20 and table 17 and 18 below.

48

Front View Side View

Internal Design of the vessel

Figure 20 : Boat Design for IW1

Table 18:Boat Specifications for IW1

Basic Dimensions

Length Overall 12.00m

Beam Overall 3.063m

Design Draft 0.400m

Loaded Displacement 9.276

tonnes

Passenger Capacity 53

Design Hydrostatics

Block Coefficient 0.6766

Prismatic Coefficient 0.8262

Waterplane Coefficient 0.9263

Vert. Prismatic Coefficient 0.7304

49

Wetted Surface Area 35.945 m2

Longitudinal Center of Buoyancy 5.320m

Longitudinal Center of Buoyancy -1.781%

Vertical Center of Buoyancy 0.241m

Length on Waterline 10.918 m

Beam on Waterline 3.063 m

Waterplane Area 30.975 m2

Waterplane Center of Floatation 5.221 m

Transverse Moment of Inertia 22.459 m4

Longitudinal Moment of Inertia 274.43 m4

Initial Stability:

Vertical of Transverse

Metacenter

2.723 m

Transverse Metacentric Radius 2.482 m

3.5.3 Resistance and Power calculations

Table 19:Final calculations of resistance and power by Mercier and Savitsky's method

Vs R_f R_r R_t Pe

[kn] [kN] [kN] [kN] [kW]

9.34 0.952 8.290 9.241 44.39 Vs- Ship speed (knots)

9.89 1.057 9.850 10.907 55.47 R_f - Frictional Resistance (kN)

10.44 1.169 10.745 11.914 63.96 R_r - Residual Resistance kN)

10.98 1.285 11.066 12.350 69.79 R_t - Total Resistance (kN)

11.53 1.406 11.222 12.628 74.93

12.08 1.532 11.610 13.142 81.69 Pe- Effective Power (kW)

12.63 1.663 12.312 13.976 90.82

13.18 1.800 13.096 14.896 101.01

13.73 1.941 13.450 15.391 108.72

14.28 2.087 13.381 15.468 113.63

14.83 2.238 13.013 15.251 116.34

15.38 2.394 12.748 15.142 119.79

15.93 2.555 12.535 15.090 123.64

16.48 2.720 12.387 15.107 128.05

17.03 2.891 13.030 15.921 139.44

17.57 3.066 14.720 17.786 160.81

50

Power to be installed = 140kW to achieve 12 knots

The double hull Catamaran boat and its specifications which is proposed for IW2 is shown in

the following figure.

Front View Side View

Side View

Figure 21 Boat Design for IW2

51

Table 20: Preliminary Design of Catamaran Passenger Boat

Basic Dimensions

Length Overall 12.90m

Beam Overall 5.00m

Design Draft 1.0

Loaded Displacement 18.2 tonnes

Passenger Capacity 125

Design Hydrostatics

Block Coefficient 0.3195

Prismatic Coefficient 0.8545

Vert. Prismatic Coefficient 0.7345

Wetted Surface Area 99.825 m2

Longitudinal Center of Buoyancy 4.258m

Longitudinal Center of Buoyancy -13.780%

Vertical Center of Buoyancy 0.553m

Waterplane Area 25.578 m2

Waterplane Coefficient 0.4349

Waterplane Center of Floatation 4.621m

Y Coordinate of Dwl Area Cog 0.000 m

Half Entrance Angle of Dwl 0.014 degr

Transverse Moment of Inertia 61.557m4

Longitudinal Moment of Inertia 357.65m4

Initial Stability:

Vertical of Transverse Metacenter 2.723 m

Transverse Metacentric Radius 2.482 m

Longitudinal Transverse Metacenter 20.698

Test Stability Coefficient 10.561 if >= 0.8

Then ok

52

4. Resistance and Power calculations

Table 21: Resistance and Power calculations

SPEED R_F R_R R_T EFFECTIVE POWER

[KN] [KN] [KN] [KN] [KW]

7.97 2.1 1.4 3.5 14.4

9.21 2.7 1.5 4.3 20.2

10.44 3.4 2.1 5.6 30

11.68 4.2 3.9 8.2 49.1

12.92 5.1 6.5 11.6 76.9

14.16 6.1 8.7 14.7 107.3

15.4 7.1 9.8 16.8 133.2

17.87 9.3 10.1 19.5 179

18.37 9.8 11.3 21.1 199.1

18.87 10.3 13.4 23.8 230.7

Power to be installed to achieve 12 knots = 140 KW.

53

4. INITIAL SAFETY AUDIT OF THE CANAL ROUTE

4.1 Health and Safety

Safety is an essential consideration throughout all stages of an inland water-based transport

scheme. There are diverse and detailed safety regulations, which should be incorporated into

the design, construction and operation of vessels, transport routes (e.g. lakes, canals and

waterways) and stations/jetties. The discussion of this topic can be broadly broken down into

regulations, design for safety, operational safety, water safety and security. A detailed

technical discussion needs to be carried out looking at all aspects of the transportation system

in order to make the system safe for the users of the system, crew and the general public that

are not direct users of the system.

4.1.1 Regulations

Similar to that of road-based transport systems, regulations for safety in boat transportation

are equally important for all facets of the systems. First and foremost, the primary legislation

covering safety in businesses in general needs to be looked at in order to determine the

applicable regulations. In order to ensure safety, entities such as the Municipal Councils,

Divisional Secretariats, Maritime Authority, Transport Authorities, Sri Lanka Navy, Sri

Lanka police and the National Institute of Occupational health and safety will have a role to

play. The rules and guidelines established by these authorities need to be taken into account

when setting up a boat transportation system for public transport. In addition, public safety, in

particular, water safety needs to be looked at in order to provide a safe and secure system that

includes all facets of a boat-based transportation system.

4.2 Designing for safety

The Design, Construction and Management related legal duties need to be in place for the

designers of the project to ensure that constructing, maintaining and dismantling of the boats

can be achieved safely. The layout and the construction of the boats need to ensure stability at

all times. Stability of the boats need to be checked for both tranquil and turbulent water when

the boat is least submerged (i.e. no load conditions) and fully submerged (i.e. extreme loading

conditions). In addition, the maximum pitch and roll angles permissible for the passenger

transport boats must be established and incorporated when designing the boats in order to

provide a safe and comfortable ride for the customers. In this regard, incorporating drogues to

enhance stability can be an option if necessary.

54

When designing, relevant safety factors must be in place to suit different canal and loading

conditions to withstand both static and dynamic forces that will be acting on the boat in

general. Maximum speed of the boats is also another important consideration during the

design phase. Here, special emphasis should be given to the navigational safety of the boats

on the mainline canals. In order to fulfil the above conditions, material selection to construct

the different components of the boats becomes a key issue. Provision of safety features such

as emergency evacuation access ways (e.g. doors) is also important during the design and

construction phase of the passenger boats, for instance, the location and use of escapes in the

craft and the evacuation of passengers. In addition, it is advisable to have uniformity in the

boats being constructed, for example, the components, construction and the colour of the

body and interior. In general, rules and guidelines accepted by the international maritime

regulatory authorities and design standards must be adhered to at all times in the design and

construction phase. It is recommended to carry out a failure mode effect analysis (FMEA) by

the boat builder to ascertain the safety of the boats. These would ensure a safe boat-based

transportation system, which would be trusted by the intended users and regulatory bodies. It

is suggested that the boats must be equipped with the following list of items in order to make

the journeys safe according to the Ministry of Transport and Communication, Finland.

However, the list appropriate for the Sri Lankan boat transportation system needs to be

determined.

● Navigation lights

● Anchor light

● Anchor and cable

● Drift anchor

● Mooring ropes

● Towing rope

● Fenders

● Steering wheel and spare steering device

● Oars or paddle

● Boat hook

● Hand pump

● Bucket or bailer

● Signal horn

● Fire extinguishers (Manual extinguishers complying at least with classes B and C)

● Life jackets for everyone on board

● Life buoy

● Lifeline (floating)

55

● Distress flares

● Hand-held lamp

● First-aid kit

● Compass

● Navigation charts

● Stern flag

When designing the boats and piers, the following aspects needs to be taken into

consideration for passenger safety and comfort. These have been incorporated into the

proposed designs.

Inclusion of handrails is essential as an aid to boarding and disembarking the boats. The

handrails need to be placed from the point of the seats to the point at which the passengers get

on to the pier. They have to be placed overhead and in the level of the waist for safe and easy

support inside the cabin. Railings also need to be in place outside the cabin area to prevent

passengers from falling overboard. Several examples are shown in Figure 22.

Figure 22 : Guard rails for the passengers to hold to ensure safety

The passengers must be able to get into the boat and also disembark safely. In order to

facilitate this, adequate platforms and handrails need to be provided. Examples are shown in

Figure 23. As shown, it is possible to integrate the platforms with either the pier or the boat or

both.

56

Figure 23 : Protected platform for passengers to embark and disembark

Seats for the passengers need to be designed so that they provide safety and comfort to the

passengers. Seat dimensions can be determined using standard seat sizes used in passenger

boats for ease of design and construction. However, the seat height can be determined

through a user survey. If the seat dimensions are planned to be customized to the Sri Lankan

population, user anthropometric survey need to be carried out since the relevant data on the

Sri Lankan population is only available from a study carried out in 1982. This shortcoming

can be overcome to a limited extent by the anthropometric information of the Indian

population, which is published. The seat material can be treated wood with a waterproof

paint, laminated wood or polypropylene without cushions so that maintenance is easy. Using

the Sri Lankan data, the following seat dimensions were identified.

Seat height: 350-380 mm

Seat depth: 446-460 mm

Seat width: 331-360 mm

Backrest height: 873-949 mm from the floor

Leg space (seat pitch): 724-781 mm from the backrest

The floorboards of the boats need to be finished to have a non-slippery surface even when the

floor is wet. In order to facilitate this, granulated and chequered plates can be used to finish

the floor board. Application of non-skid paint is another method to avoid slippery floors.

These options are shown in Figure 24.

57

Figure 24: Ensuring non-slippery floors

Pier design is also a very important aspect of the boat-based transport system. Every possible

step needs to be taken in order to prevent people from falling into water. Therefore, piers

need to be protected with railings with gates to facilitate passengers to get on board and

disembark the boats. Several examples of railings being employed in piers are shown in

Figure 25. However, an architectural design unique to Sri Lanka can be made for the current

application.

Figure 25 : Pier designs with guard rails

The piers at open areas, especially terminals, can be arranged as shown in Figure 26 with

addition of railings for the safety of the passengers. Such terminal will be able to dock several

boats at a time. Shelter also need to be provided even to the access-way that leads to the pier.

Therefore, this type of pier is suitable for locations such as Diyatha Uyana and Beira lake.

58

Figure 26: Pier suitable for terminals

Provision of adequate headroom is essential so that the passengers can stand safely without

striking the head on the roof of the boat. This is vital for efficient boarding and disembarking

the boats. This is especially important at the doorway to prevent injury. The mean stature of

the Sri Lankan male population is 1639 mm (s.d. 64 mm). The height (the linear distance

from the footboard to the ceiling) is best designed for a 95th

percentile male in terms of

stature. This figure is 1746 mm for the Sri Lankan population. Therefore, the minimum

headroom that must be kept when designing the boat is 1746 mm. This means, 95 % of the

male passengers are able to use the boat without any difficulty. In addition, almost all the

females can use the boat without difficulty.

Figure 27: Headroom for passengers

59

4.3 Operational Safety

Operators' responsibilities extend to everyone on the site including boating customers, casual

visitors, general public and staff. The safety of those with disabilities and people by the water

are equally important considerations in the modern-day context of boat-based transportation.

Guidelines and regulations, and signposts, displays, notice boards, flags and lights along the

waterways, safety equipment and training on correct practices/procedures for both operators

and passengers are put in place to ensure operational safety.

Risk Assessment is a key element to providing a safe environment. The safety of people at

the site that includes all areas of the boat transportation system is a fundamental aspect of the

design process. A risk assessment, at the design stage of the proposed activities at the site will

highlight features to be designed into the scheme. These could extend to, for example, pier or

pontoon, layout and sizes, lighting, access to facilities such as washrooms, service provisions

to boats such as fuel, segregation of vehicle parking, provision of life saving equipment, and

storage of hazardous substances. Once the site is built and operational, there should be a clear

safety policy and appropriate operating procedures (including inspection and maintenance)

informed by regular risk assessment.

Accidental drowning can usually be linked to one or more of the following factors: failure to

provide personal buoyancy equipment; failure of buoyancy equipment to operate correctly;

disregard or misjudgment of a hazard; lack of supervision, especially of the young; inability

to cope once a problem arises; the absence of rescuers and rescue equipment; and failure to

take account of weather forecasts. Falling unexpectedly, fully clothed into water, and trying

to swim or co-operate with rescuers, is often extremely difficult. In such situations, even

strong swimmers may experience problems. Where there is a risk of falling into the water and

drowning, it is essential to provide sufficient buoyancy to keep the person safely afloat. In

addition, clear and strict instructions need to be provided using different modes (e.g. mass

media, display posters and verbal instructions at the piers) for the passengers. It is also

essential to train the crew in order to help them provide a service focusing on safety of the

passengers. The necessity for a rescue team will also be necessary to provide a dedicated

service to the passengers.

In order to operate safely without collusions, a set of rules on water also need to be

established. For example, to have speed limits (i.e 7- 12 Knots) , minimum (safe) distance (or

time lag) between two boats operating in the same direction, minimum (safe) distance

60

between two boats operating in the opposite directions, guidelines to keeping near to the right

or left hand bank (keeping near to the left may be more appropriate to align with the norm for

road-based transport system), right of way as the boats may tack (i.e. zig-zag) across the

water and to pass them as they move away and provide specific channels in some areas for

safety so that the boats must stay within the channels.

The maximum safe speed can be somewhere around 6.4 kmph (maximum speed for narrow

boats in the United Kingdom) to 15 kmph (Finland Saimaa canal regulation, Ministry of

Transport and Communication, Finland) based on the draught of the boat, breadth and the

depth of the canal and importantly, considering a minimum level of risk to safety of

passengers using the system. Such limits are imposed primarily because of erosion that take

place due to generated waves hitting the canal banks when boats are travelling. Thus, the

maximum speed limit for the Sri Lankan canals need to be established based on the draught

of the boats being used, width and the depth of the canals not forgetting the safety of

passengers.

The speed also need to be regulated to reduce passenger discomfort due to motion sickness.

Furthermore, taking bends that are present along the canals and turning around at the ends

need to be carried out safely. Taking bends at the maximum permissible speed especially

when ripples are present can bring discomfort. Turning the boats fast at the endpoints, could

even damage the boats. Thus, speed regulation at the bends and end points need to be put in

place and collision of the boats with the banks and piers has to be avoided. It is suggested that

a rolling guardrail be provided at the endpoints (e.g. Wellawatta) for convenient and safe

turning of the boats without colliding with the banks. Although it is seldom used in passenger

boat transport systems, it can be advantageous to be used in the Sri Lankan context given the

condition of the canals. An example of guardrails used as a collision protection device in a

highway is shown in the Figure 28.

61

Figure 28: Guardrails for turning

In addition, rules such as the following must be adhered to when operating and using a boat-

based transport system. For example, alcohol limits (preferably zero tolerance on alcohol) for

passengers need to be established. Drinking may make one more likely to fall in, and reduce

the chances of surviving if fallen. It may also affect the safety of others using the service.

Rules must also be set to force never to drink water from the canals, rivers or lakes and not

splashing it onto the face to cool down and if one gets wet, getting him/her to wash or shower

promptly; to wash and thoroughly dry any wet clothing before wearing it again; and to keep

away from water, which is discolored or where foam, scum or algae is present. Thus, it is

important to provide changing rooms/ washrooms with fresh water facilities at the piers.

Since water safety in operation is important, it is discussed below in a separate section.

The observed canals flow under several dangerously low bridges and pipelines. This can be a

threat to both design of the boat and health and safety of the boat users. Particularly during

the high tide, there can be a possibility of not having an adequate height clearance for safe

passenger transport. Therefore, it is suggested to take account of this when designing the

boats. In addition, structural changes to the bridges and overpasses, and pipelines are

suggested in order to make the canal transport safe throughout the year. For instance, raising

of the bridges and pipelines need to be carried out.

The flow in canals and the lake can change with the weather conditions. Most canals are calm

and smooth-flowing, but rivers can have strong streams, currents or, in some cases, tides.

Handling a boat in fast-flowing water takes special skill and good judgment. Furthermore, the

usual risks are magnified – a current makes collisions more likely. Therefore, the operators

must be trained to handle the boats under different flow conditions. They need to be provided

with training that complies with the international standards. In addition, there needs to be a

set of signposts, preferably electronic messages, to indicate the operators regarding the canal

or lake condition at different places.

62

Flora and fauna is also a factor to recognize pertaining to health and safety. Thick vegetation

is present in the canals, Beira lake and along the banks. Sri Lanka being a tropical and fertile

country, rapid growth of this vegetation will be inevitable and it can be a threat to the

transportation system causing a safety hazard. With the vegetation, there is an abundance of

reptiles and other creatures such as monitor lizards and birds that will result in fear and hence

lead to a safety hazard. Therefore, measures need to be taken to keep the canals clear of

excessive vegetation and the animals at bay in particular at the piers.

The canals are surrounded by woodlands and shrubs. They are a haven for the numerous

species of birds in large numbers. Thus, the walkways, piers and boats can get littered by

elements such as tree leaves and bird droppings. In order to keep passenger areas litter and

germ free, regular cleaning (i.e. daily) will be required. This will also help to attract

passengers and also to prevent possible diseases being spread. A cleaning team is essential to

maintain the transport system in peak condition.

The fire extinguishers used in the boats and the piers must be approved by the Sri Lankan fire

brigade. The boats and piers have the risk of fire due to all classes of material except Class D

as shown below. Thus, it is advisable to carry appropriate fire extinguishers. Water fire

extinguishers are suitable for Class A fires, but they are not suitable for Class B (Liquid)

fires, or where electricity is involved. Although more expensive than water fire extinguishers,

foam fire extinguishers are used for Classes A & B fires. They are more versatile as well.

Foam spray extinguishers are not recommended for fires involving electricity, but are safer

than water if inadvertently sprayed onto live electrical apparatus. Dry powder fire

extinguishers are often termed the „multi-purpose extinguishers‟, as they can be used on

classes A, B & C fires. They are best for running liquid fires (Class B) and will efficiently

extinguish Class C gas fires, but it can be dangerous to extinguish a gas fire without first

isolating the gas supply. Interestingly, special powders are also available for class D metal

fires. However, when used indoors, powder can obscure vision or damage goods and

machinery. Carbon Dioxide extinguishers are ideal for fires involving electrical apparatus

(Class E), and will also extinguish class B liquid fires, but has no post fire security and the

fires could re-ignite. Therefore, dry powder fire extinguishers (Blue colour according to BS

5423) together with carbon dioxide extinguishers (Black colour according to BS 5423) need

to be made mandatory for the boats and piers. If the boats and piers are used for recreational

activities that involve cooking oil and fat (Class F), wet chemical fire extinguishers also need

to be available.

63

Class A: Solids such as paper, wood, plastic etc.

Class B: Flammable liquids such as paraffin, petrol, oil etc.

Class C: Flammable gases such as propane, butane, methane etc.

Class D: Metals such as aluminium, magnesium, titanium etc.

Class E: Fires involving electrical apparatus

Class F: Cooking oil & fat etc.

For passenger safety, slips and trips have to be avoided. In this regard, focus on mooring

ropes, bollards, holes and other hazards are essential. In addition, use of guard rails in piers

and boats, and not trying to jump from the boat onto the bank or piers are important. A

moving boat has the force to crush a person. Therefore, keeping people out of the way by not

allowing to fend off with one‟s arms, legs or a boat pole and letting the fender take the

impact, not allowing to have ones‟ legs dangling over the side, ones‟ hands over the edge or

the head out of the hatch, and not allowing to be on the roof when underway are also

important. At the same time, it is essential to make sure that the boats are not made top heavy

by loading increasing the tendency to roll over. Standing together on the same side also

increases the risk of tipping the boat over. Thus, it also needs to be prevented by imposing

rules and regulations when occupying seats.

Passengers need protection from weather conditions such as sun and rain. Therefore, the

walkways, piers and boats need to have adequate shading and canopies. The walkways that

connect the other forms of transport systems and the piers need to have a natural (i.e. shading

trees) and/or an artificial (i.e. roof) canopy to provide protection to the passengers. The piers

need to be provided with roofs to protect the passengers from especially bad weather

conditions. The boats too need to be fitted with roofs to protect the passengers from elements

such as the sun and rain. In addition, adequate measures (e.g. louvers) need to be taken to

prevent passengers from being getting wet during rain due to wind.

4.3.1 Water Safety

Serious consideration must be given to water safety. The provision of life saving equipment

alone may not necessarily discharge the legal duties. Issues such as slip resistant surfaces on

piers, pontoons and walkways adjacent to the water, demarcation of edges (e.g. contrasting

64

colours & tactile surfaces), height of freeboard, the provision of a means of escape and a

method of preserving life whilst waiting to be rescued must all be considered. A

comprehensive water safety audit, which includes reports with advice on risk assessments

and operating procedures need to be carried out in this regard before commissioning the

system. Such audits are needed to identify any foreseeable hazard, assess the level of risk and

identify measures necessary to prevent or adequately control the risk. Where there is a

foreseeable risk of drowning, not controlled by other means, suitable personal buoyancy

equipment needs to be provided for the users of the system. Crew has requirements for their

own safety and will be expected to provide and wear suitable buoyancy equipment when

needed. Operators of boats will also need to consider provision of suitable buoyancy

equipment for use by members of the public who are not direct users of the transportation

system where necessary.

When selecting the correct personal buoyancy equipment, a number of factors such as

frequency of use, size/weight of the wearer, ability to swim, protective clothing in case of

foul weather, use of tool belts or other loads, likely weather/water conditions at site and

availability are of help. The final decision on the design and level of buoyancy needed

depends on the results of a suitable risk assessment and should only be made after discussion

with the supplier/manufacturer on the intended use. All relevant lifesaving appliances

(including lifejackets) should meet adequate standards and an enforcing authority such as the

Sri Lanka Standards Institute (SLSI) needs to be in place to check the quality standards of the

safety equipment.

There is a risk of any design of personal buoyancy equipment failing to operate correctly, or

at all, if it is not properly used and maintained. To minimize this risk, a policy to ensure

proper use, inspection, maintenance and storage of the equipment is needed. The maintenance

needs of the equipment are largely dictated by the method of achieving buoyancy and the

environment to which it is exposed. The lowest maintenance requirements are on equipment

relying totally on permanently buoyant material. This will normally need only regular visual

checks to ensure the integrity of the outer cover, buoyancy material and fastenings. The

greatest requirements are on equipment, which relies entirely on manual or automatic gas

inflation as damage to the inflation chamber(s), inflation mechanism or gas cylinder could

result in total failure to provide buoyancy. Therefore, permanently buoyant equipment are

preferred to be used in the boat transport system.

65

If inflatable devices are used despite their disadvantages, there are a number of different

automatic inflation mechanisms in use to inflate lifejackets. However, they work on similar

principles. The automatic inflation mechanism consists of an automatic firing capsule, a

carbon dioxide gas cylinder and a fitting attached to the lifejacket that holds these two parts

in place. A substance that breaks down on contact with water, e.g. „salt‟ or „paper ring‟ is

used within the automatic firing capsule to hold back a spring loaded piston, which acts on a

sharp pin. If the mechanism comes into contact with the water, the „salt‟ or „paper ring‟

breaks down and releases the spring. The piston is forced forward by the spring and the sharp

pin pierces the cap of the gas cylinder and the lifejacket is inflated.

A thorough inspection and testing programme needs to be carried out for any type of

buoyancy equipment in accordance with manufacturer's‟ instructions. Where lifejackets are

used heavily, e.g. by the boat crew, the periods between inspection may need to be shorter

than the quarterly inspection recommended by some manufacturers. As a general guide where

lifejackets are used daily, inspections on at least on a monthly basis may be necessary.

Inspection and testing need to be carried out by those competent in recognizing defects and

the remedial action to be taken. Records must be kept of all inspections and repairs made for

safety audit purposes.

4.3.2 Fuel Safety

All boat operators using petrol, and especially those who are new to boating, should

appreciate the nature of petrol vapor especially in the context of the bucket-like quality of a

boat cabin and hull. The fundamentals are that petrol, when spilt or exposed to open air, can

evaporate quickly and the vapor can be ignited easily by any source of fire such as a spark,

flame or cigarette. Even a small spill of petrol will create a large amount of vapor. Likewise

when it is being poured and when a tank is being filled, the vapor in the „empty‟ tank is

displaced by the new liquid fuel. Escaping vapor will sink to the lowest level of its

surroundings, accumulating at low level in places such as cabin floors, lockers, bilges and

other „still-air‟ spaces. Continuous inhalation of petroleum vapor can cause health and safety

problems such as respiratory tract irritations, allergic reactions and long-term health effects

like cancer. Even if the concentration of vapor is too rich to ignite immediately, it will dilute

creating the potential for serious fire and/or an explosion, even though, given enough

ventilation, it may dissipate to a safe level eventually. Following are ten petrol safety

essentials that have been identified from the literature:

66

1. Checking the fuel system and engine for fuel leaks or any signs of damage or

deterioration of the fuel system before starting. Having any problems sorted out if

there are any.

2. Not switching on electricity or turning the ignition key on if there is a strong smell of

petroleum.

3. Immediate stopping of the vessel is necessary if there is a strong smell of petroleum

after starting the journey.

4. Keeping vapor out of the boat. Before refueling, closing all windows, hatches, doors

and awnings; also, turning off ignition sources such as cooking appliances.

5. Double checking the correct filling point before starting to pour fuel.

6. Making sure to re-secure the filler cap.

7. Cleaning up any spills immediately.

8. Avoiding decanting petrol from containers. If it is unavoidable, it is essential to use

anti-spill containers, spouts or nozzles to allow, clean and easy, no-spill refueling.

9. Not carrying spare fuel, unless it is needed. If it is carried, it must be in cans

specifically designed for petrol. Keeping within the legal capacity limits of cans is

also important.

10. Containers should be filled to the legal capacity limit and must be stowed securely

upright, away from intense heat and out of direct sunlight to prevent pressurization.

11. Refueling any portable engine or tank ashore and safely away from any sources of

ignition. Establish marina / mooring rules on petrol refueling and handling and always

follow them.

12. Never use any bowl, bucket or other open container to carry or transfer petrol.

4.3.3 Security

Security is particularly important to customers or the passengers. Good design can limit the

potential for crime, vandalism and enhance personal safety. Good practice for designing out

crime from waterside environments is one initiative that can be formulated and implemented

with the boat transport system.

● Adequate lighting, security alarm systems and proper layouts can be designed into the

system in order to prevent crime and provide a secure environment to the passengers

at all times. National/International standards for lighting and security alarm systems

must be used in order to comply with the rules and regulations pertaining to public

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transport and passenger boat operation.

● There needs to be a quick-contact number such as the one provided for the

expressways (i.e. 1969).

● A Crime Prevention Officer dedicated to the service. In addition, experts in crime

prevention can be part of the early design stages.

● Recruiting a team for security and maintenance of the entire system.

● A division of the Police and especially the Navy needs to be established in order to

ensure security, law and order.

● A life saver unit needs to be established to safeguard the users of the system. This

may be provided by the Police and the Navy or alternatively by the Sri Lanka

coastguards.

5. PROJECT RISK

In addition to the health and safety related risks, the threats due to other potential risks need

to be evaluated. Such risks, which are uncertain events or conditions that can have positive or

negative effects on the objectives of the project can be categorized into political, economic,

social, technological, legal and environmental risks. The risks must first be identified. Once

identified, they must be analyzed. The analysis will lead to risk mitigation actions and

implementation plans.

5.1 Political Risk

The demand analysis for the project has been carried out based on the forecasted passenger

travelling scenarios for 2015, 2020, 2025 and 2030. However, the transport policy can change

if the local authority, minister or government changes in the future. This has been the typical

situation in Sri Lanka with the governments that have been elected into power in the past.

The governments being elected tend to reject the predecessors‟ policies and formulate new

ones. Thus, in order for the project to progress, the transport master plan has to be established

as the national transport policy for the Western Province irrespective of the changes in

political leadership.

The project is to be implemented initially with limited facilities, and with time, the facilities

are planned to be enhanced. This is to make sure that that project is successfully implemented

and to avoid any unforeseen major setbacks. Therefore, the government policy needs to be

conducive towards the project in general and its sustenance in particular. As such, sustained

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allocation of funding adequate for the project and government patronage needs to be ensured

for the successful implementation of the project.

Acts of sabotage, slow progress and/or inefficient operations may push the project towards an

abrupt stop resulting in a failure. These can be promoted or manipulated by politically

motivated factions of the society. Again, this has been a feature in Sri Lanka in the past

where the opposition tends to oppose every project that the ruling party tries to implement

irrespective of their expected outcomes. Therefore, it is important to award the contracts to

reliable and impartial parties to develop infrastructure and carry out the operations. In

addition, transparency of the entire process needs to be guaranteed.

This project can encounter opposition from other transport mode operators such as bus and

taxi operators envisaging potential drop in the demand for their modes of transport. Such

opposition can also be used by political opponents for their advantage and aggravate matters.

Therefore, the project needs to be guarded against such activities. Public awareness

campaigns through electronic and print media can be carried out in this regard.

In order to counter political risk for a project of this nature is to have strong and powerful

political vision and leadership to drive the project forward. Such backing could potentially

motivate the project executors. In addition, monitoring and controlling of the project by the

relevant authorities could effectively reduce the political risk. The stakeholders that will be

instrumental in the project success need be identified and they need to be empowered to drive

the project forward.

5.2 Economic Risk

Pricing of tickets in boat-based transport depends on the demand and the provided service

and the facilities. However, with the low demand during the initial period, the collection by

issuing tickets may not be enough for break-even. Therefore, the operator needs to be allowed

to supplement the income using other means such as recreational activities (e.g. tourism and

banqueting) given that the operator provides an agreed minimum level of service. This

minimum level needs to be established through consultation. This is the reason to carry out a

„what if‟ analysis based on the possible scenarios of demand.

Ticket pricing in other modes of transport may also affect the successful implementation of

the project. Most probably, the prices of other modes of transport will increase with time. As

a result, the prices in boat-based transport may become more feasible with time. However, a

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formula needs to be established to determine the ticketing prices, i.e. ticketing formula. It

may be dangerous in the project viewpoint to decide the ticket prices in isolation without

giving due regard to the price of other modes of transport because all the modes of transport

are expected to operate in concert towards a common goal under the transport policy.

Therefore, intervention of the government authorities is seen as a must for the successful

implementation and sustenance of the project.

Changes in the exchange rates will affect the project outcomes as there are many facets of the

project that depend on foreign exchange. Therefore, managing the project as much as

possible within Sri Lanka and by Sri Lankan organizations is advantageous. For instance, if

the boats are imported, the project may get boats that are not ideal for the Sri Lankan context.

At the same time, government taxes, dependency on foreign manufacturers can be

detrimental to the project. In order to avoid this, the boats can be manufactured using

resources in Sri Lanka. This will ensure the suitability of the boats to the Sri Lankan

conditions. This is also feasible as the boat building sector in Sri Lanka is very well

established with players like Dockyard. The knowledge required is also within Sri Lanka for

such endeavor that would ultimately lessen the economic risk.

Determining the direct cost involved with the boat-based transport project and comparing

against the income can reduce the feasibility of the project. It may show that the project is not

feasible at all. Thus, indirect costs and income also need to be considered in order to

determine the economic effectiveness of the project. Reduction of congestion, regular

maintenance of the waterways and enhancement of the appearance and security around the

waterways can be considered as economic benefits that the project has. The cost due to

congestion and the savings expected from the project therefore need to be estimated in order

to justify the economic feasibility of the project.

5.3 Social Risk

5.3.1 External

There may be cases of relocation of dwellings when trying to implement the project as the

project needs to construct jetties and access pathways. This is especially relevant in the case

of Beira lake based transportation system. Therefore, an effective resettlement plan needs to

be in place along with the project.

People are often seen fishing in the canals. In addition, there are existing boat operators that

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engage in leisure activities in the lakes. The project therefore, can affect the livelihoods or

profits of such factions of the community. At the same time, the people who have property

along the banks of the waterways may be affected due to the frequent noise emitted from the

motor boats. This could affect the tranquil environment of such dwellings. Furthermore,

possibility of water pollution can also be considered as a threat. Thus, strict regulations need

to be imposed in order to maintain the noise levels and minimize the other types of

disturbances such as operating at night with lights switched on and contamination of canal

water.

A boat service that will reduce the demand for other forms of transport is bound to

detrimentally affect the livelihoods of people such as three-wheeler operators and bus

operators. Such cases need to be identified and alternative measures need to be taken in the

long run. Providing employment to affected parties such as three-wheeler operators in the

boat-based transport project is one of the strategies that can be used. It would also reduce the

possibility of them opposing the project.

The travellers will be reluctant to use the boat service during the initial period due to the

general fear of water. Therefore, the general public needs to be educated. The boat design

needs to be explained. The safety features and the measures that have been taken to ensure

passenger safety comfort and security needs to be emphasized through media and other

sources. With time, people will get used to boat-based transport and time taken for this needs

to be minimized.

5.3.2 Internal

The project at its inception will have low demand and it is expected to increase with time. In

the initial period, the workers may get bored and frustrated with low amount of work. This

might result in high labour turnover and also lead to malpractices. Therefore, it is important

to decide the number of workers that need to be deployed in the project initially and increase

the number with the growing demand. In addition, facilities need to be provided for the staff

to have a trouble-free work environment.

5.4 Legal

It is not possible to deploy a boat or any kind of vessel without the permission of relevant

government authorities. In order to do so, the boats must be constructed according to set

design standards. At the same time, the workforce need to be trained according to strict

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guidelines, especially to act during times of turmoil. Therefore, permission need to be taken

from the relevant authorities in order to implement the project. At the same time, the

employees need to be trained so that they could take decisions quickly and promptly. This

also give rise to the need of boat permits (similar to vehicle revenue licenses and bus route

permits) and insurance policies, which enables the boat operators to use the boats in a more

user-friendly manner.

The boats will require permanent members to work as pilots. Therefore, people need to be

recruited and then trained in order to transport passengers.

5.5 Environmental Risk

The boats emit noise both due to the engines and the water on which the boats operate. Lights

when operating at night will also be a cause of environmental risk. In addition, the water in

the canals will become turbulent. If there are spillages of fuel or oil, the water will get

polluted. These will affect the environment and both the flora and fauna around the

waterways will be at risk. At the same time, the dwellers by the side of the waterways will be

affected.

Boat-based transport is in general expensive than the other modes of transport. This is due to

higher consumption of fuel. This will be a cause of concern with respect to the environment.

Although the environmental cost is high, the economic benefits can be highlighted in order to

reduce the risk of social unrest considering the environmental cost.

5.6 Technological Risk

Efficiency of other modes of transport due to improvement of infrastructure facilities can be a

treat to boat-based transport. For example, construction of flyovers and widening of roads

will smoothen the traffic flow and the current bottlenecks will no longer be there. This will

make boat-based transport redundant.

If boats and other required equipment are imported, spare parts and repairing facilities will be

difficult to find. In addition, the imported boats may not be suitable for the Sri Lankan

waterway system. For example, the draft of the boats need to be low in order to manoeuvre in

shallow water and if a boat with a capacity of 50 is selected from the international market, the

draft may be too high. Therefore, it is advised to construct the boats within Sri Lanka to

reduce this risk.

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6. FINANCIAL VIABILITY

The financial feasibility study focuses on the IW1 route Wellawatta - Battaramulla and

utilizes the demand projections assuming an 18kmph speed. Demand inputs indicate the %

capacity that will be achieved in any given year. Revenue inputs are limited to ticket fare

revenue and advertising revenue. Other revenue streams (which can incorporate innovation

on the part of the private company - for example eco-tourism) are not modeled in this

reference model. The concession period is modeled as 15 years.

6.1 Demand Data

Demand flows are split by peak hour and off-peak hour demand. Usage trends (% of total

capacity) are assessed using these peak and off-peak demand projections. We assume that

standard service will require a boat every 10 minutes and therefore ferry transport capacity

within any given hour is 300 people per station.

Table 22 Peak Demand Hour-Single Direction

Table 23 Off-Peak Demand Hour-Single Direction

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Table 24 Usage Trend Projection

Occupancy rates during peak hour, assuming same service frequency are considerably higher

than at off-peak times. However, peak hours only constitute four hours of each day‟s 16-hour

service, and therefore a weighted average calculation is appropriate.

Interestingly, 2017 baseline numbers indicate that usage is higher than in 2020 and 2025

projections. This is due to the baseline case taking into consideration the increase in transport

options as other projects currently under planning and construction are realized. However, for

the purposes of modeling, this usage rate is reduced to account for a ramp up period. We

assume 30% occupancy in 2018 (the first year of operation), 41% in 2019 and 52% in 2020.

After this, occupancy increases gradually in-line with demand analysis projections.

6.2 Financial modeling

The financial model uses the pricing inputs used in the Demand Analysis. Here, the first km

is charged at Rs.12 and subsequent kms of the same trip are charged at Rs.4. We calculate a

total Rs. 88 revenue collection for a single seat from Wellawatte to Battaramulla (i.e. where

the entire length of the canal is traversed). This Rs.88 calculation is higher than the pricing of

a single Wellawatte-Battaramulla ticket (~Rs. 55) as we must take into account the average

trip length of 1.93km i.e. this distance would benefit from 5.5 ~2km trips. As such the total

fare revenue generated from this trip will be Rs.88 instead of Rs.55. The model also assumes

a 15-year concession beginning in 2018. The boat service is assumed to require a fleet of 10

boats that call at each jetty with a headway of 10 minutes.

Cost associated with the project are maintenance costs, operational costs, staff costs, boat

yard facility costs and initial set-up costs. Leverage is built-into the model with a 60/40 debt-

to-equity split.

The results achieved are as follows:

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Table 25 Results of financial modeling

Projects that achieve above 20% IRR are considered financially viable. In this model, annual

passenger ferry ticketing revenues stabilize at ~Rs.82 million per year in 2020 and then

increase in line with demand projections and inflation. The model includes other revenue

generation to the amount Rs. 750,000 per boat (i.e. Rs. 7.5 million per year) . Other sources

of revenue that were not considered in this reference model are envisaged to be eco-tourism

etc.

6.3 Ticketing Revenue

The basis of the fare structure are previous studies that established demand levels at this

pricing. This price maintains affordability for commuters and allows direct competition with

alternative modes of public transport. Any increases in price are likely to see counterbalances

in reduced demand.

If we make the strong assumption of fixed demand, we can conduct a sensitivity of the

impact of different single-journey revenue potentials on the project returns . The following

Single-Journey ticketing revenues would allow the passenger ferry service to achieve 20%,

25% and 30% IRRs independent of other revenue generation:

Table 26 Baseline Analysis

Excluding other revenues, the Single-Journey revenue for one seat would have to be Rs.97.96

in order to generate a 20% IRR in this base case.

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6.3.1 Price Sensitivity

Table 27 Price Sensitivity

Comparing this with other potential ticket prices indicates the range of „Other Revenue‟ that

must be generated with a range of Single-Journey Ticket Revenue options. At Rs.100, the

equity IRR is self-sustaining. However, at below Rs. 100, some Other Revenues are required

to supplement the ticketing income.

6.3.2 Boat Price Sensitivity

Another area that is likely to provide some room to increase profitability for boat operators is

the boat cost itself. The boat cost is modelled at Rs. 45,000,000. Variation in this results in

different capex levels for the project and thereby alters returns significantly.

Table 28 Boat Price Sensitivity

A 10% increase in the boat price estimates results in a 3.1% reduction in IRR. Conversely, a

saving of 10% in the boat costs results in a 3.7% increase in the IRR.

Overall, making conservative assumptions for additional advertising revenues, and other

revenues, this project should comfortably target an IRR range of 20-25%. With private sector

innovation and scope to reduce costs, this IRR has the potential to reach 30%.

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7. INVESTMENT THROUGH PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP

7.1 Build, Operate, Transfer (BOT)

The Build Operate Transfer (BOT) approach is an option for the government to outsource

public projects to the private sector. Background, the first official private facility

development under the name Build Operate Transfer was used in Turkey in 1984, by Prime

Minister Ozal, as part of an enormous privatization program to develop new infrastructure.

However, the BOT approach was used as early as 1834 with the development of the Suez

Canal. This revenue-producing canal, financed by European capital with Egyptian financial

support, had a concession to design, construct, and operate assigned to the Egyptian ruler

Pasha Muhammad Ali.

Definition, In the BOT approach, a private party or concessionaire retains a concession for a

fixed period from a public party, called principal (client), for the development and operation

of a public facility. The development consists of the financing, design and construction of the

facility, managing and maintaining the facility adequately, and making it sufficiently

profitable. The concessionaire secures return of investment by operating the facility and,

during the concession period, the concessionaire acts as owner. At the end of the concession

period, the concessionaire transfers the ownership of the facility free of liens to the principal

at no cost.

BOT projects are very useful in bidding situations. By implementing these methodologies,

the company or the government can share the risk of the project. BOT projects include a wide

array of public facilities with the primary function to serve public needs, to provide social

services and promote economic activity in the private sector. The most common examples are

roads, bridges, water and sewer systems, airports, ports and public buildings.

7.2 Build, Operate, Own, Transfer (BOOT)

There are many factors that make BOOT attractive and suitable for governments as a project

delivery method includes stable political system, predictable and proven legal system,

government support for a project that is also clearly in the public interest, Long term demand,

limited competition, reasonable profits, good cash flows, predictable risk scenarios.

Definition, Build-Own-Operate-Transfer is a founding model and a form of concession in

which a public authority makes an agreement with a private company (concessionaire) to

Design Build, Own and Operate a specific piece of an infrastructure such as power, transport,

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water, and telecom industries, within receiving the right to achieve income from the facility

under a period of time (concession period approximately 15-25 years), and later transferring

it back into public ownership through a single organization or consortium (BOOT provider).

The earned income can be based on a variety of arrangements, ranging from a fixed annual

fee (flat rate) to the measured quantity supplied (unit rate) and "Take-or-pay" arrangements

are effectively two part tariffs expressed in a different manner. The objectives of BOOT s

participants including Government, Special Purpose Company (SPC), the Contractor, the

Lenders, the Operator, and the Sponsors are reducing the capital expenses and government's

role in build, operation and maintenance of infrastructures, making new jobs for unemployed

citizens and accountable atmosphere for a reliable and appropriate quality, providing

opportunities for a comparative or competitive climate and a sympathetic cost benefit for

both parties, introducing innovative and alternative technology.

In the current scenario, the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) should construct fixed jetties as

match with the operator‟s requirement and consideration. The investor should do boat

operation and boat yard construction.

8. STATUS OF LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

8.1 Assess Current Laws, policies and Institutional Assessment

The SLLRDC Act with its amendments provides to have custody, management,

improvement, maintenance and control of canals and prevention of pollution of canals. A

Cabinet approval was obtained on specific environmentally friendly activities such as

passenger/cargo transport and recreational activities on canals for which on the advice of the

Hon. Attorney General has been obtained. The Cabinet has taken a decision to prepare

feasibility studies on each activity.

Further to that, Hon. Minister for Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development has

submitted a Cabinet paper on “Implementation of new Inland Water Transport System

through Private Public Partnership (PPP) System on BOO/BOOT/BOO Basis” and it was

approved by the Cabinet on 10.02.2016. The Cabinet has granted approval to implement the

proposal for new inland water transport system subject to findings of respective feasibility

studies. The care of waterways is a joint responsibility of the following institutions.

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● Sri Lanka Navy

● Dept. of Irrigation

● Ministry of Environment & Renewable Energy (MERE),

● SLLRDC

The guidelines for the sustainable use of canals have been prepared by SLLRDC and it

should be updated before commencing the RFP stage. Issues such as mitigatory actions on

petroleum control, solid waste management, hazardous waste management, sewage

management gray water, boaters impact on aquatic fauna and flora, controlling invasive

plants, boat cleaning and service in the water, and generally, boat sizes, safety, insurance

coverage, and reliable communication system at an emergency with inland have been

discussed.

Further, following legislations will be review to develop the legal requirements relating to

project implementation:

● Environment Maintenance Unit to be formed - Central Environment Act

● If bank erosion is taking place - Client should take immediate Action

● Maximum speed - with the permission of the SLLRDC

● Boat safety, insurance, - Boat Ordinance

● Approval from relevant stakeholders

● Parking facilities and other utilities – permission from UDA

● Safety of workers/visitors/passengers – Factories Ordinance, Wages Board, Laws &

by Laws of the Local Authorities

● Insurance coverage to indemnify the SLLRDC

● Sounds/erosions/ - Adhere Fauna & Floor Ordinance

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9. KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

1. According to the pre-feasibility study conducted the project is feasible to implement

through PPP. The Jetty construction should be done by the funds of GOSL as it should be

shared by all permitted stakeholders. Ferry operation and ferry yard construction should be

conducted by the selected private party through EoR/ RFP process.

2. Single hull boats are proposed for IW1 and catamaran double hull boats for IW2. The

environment friendly ferries with minimum pollution are encouraged. Boat specifications

should be close to the here mentioned designs. Adjustable roofs are suitable to address the

limit of overhead clearance at certain points. For IW1 boats should be operated in every ten

minutes time per direction to address the demand.

3. Insurance and other prescribed safety precautions are compulsory at operation. All the

safety precautions should be documented and displayed at operation. Navy rescue point is

necessary to be established.

4. Value additions to the service through more reliable ticketing, mobile phone apps, Wifi

facilities etc. should introduce at the implementation.

5. A market survey should be done in finalizing the service centers recommended at pre-

feasibility stage.

6. Regular canal maintenance plan should be developed based on the bathymetry survey and

dredging needs

7. Rectification of Gabion, commencement of soft banking and sand blasting treatments for

sheet piles are needed. According to the conducted Bathymetric Survey a total of 75,000 m3

to be dredged prior to the project implementation.

9. Water pipes at Ethul Kotte Bridge and Havelock Road Bridge should be lifted immediately

along with the implementation.

10. The minimum operable water level is 0.2 m MSL and maximum operable water level is

0.7 m MSL. Under these limits, the boat service can be conducted only for 325 days per year.

12. Diyatha Uyana should be considered as the starting point and sensors for real time

monitoring at every km along the route

13. Community group should be addressed in advance to mitigate the social issues. Efforts

should be made to create a win win situation for the canal neighbors and consumers.

14. Habitat creation for aquatic fauna at periphery canals around the route should be

immediately started.