Abstract:
Western Megapolis Project is a massive scale development project. The
scale of the project demands huge amount of coarse aggregates for its construction.
Most of these projects are concentrated within or on the pheriphery of Colombo
district. Hence, the requirement to find a coarse aggregate source within Colombo
district, closer to metropolitan area is inevitable. This project was carried out in
order to identify the most suitable location to establish a mega quarry to address the
above issue. Initially a desk study was carried out to analyse spatial data in order to
get a rough idea about suitable locations. Field visits were carried out to observe
prospective lands, collect rock samples and to gather sociological data through a
questionnaire survey. The suitable location was determined by considering the
distance to Colombo metropolitan area, rock outcrops, current mining activities,
existing settlements, land ownership etc. The quality of rock samples were
investigated through Aggregate Impact Value (AIV) and Los Angeles Abrasion
Value (LAAV) tests. The volume of aggregates that can be extracted was calculated
and compared with estimated aggregate demand. It was concluded that the
aggregate requirement of considered construction projects could be satisfied by
implementing the Mega Quarry project.
