Feasibility study report on the upcoming project ofthree storey library in Poompukar

The particular area where the three storeys Library are going to construct is in Poompukar Batticaloa. It is situated within1Km from the heart of Batticaloa town. Since the library is a public service, the client’s intension is to erect this building as close as possible to Batticaloa town. After his initial works done which include clearance by local & government authorities and permits etc. He called for public tender.

So I was assigned by John Murphy PLC (where I worked as Q.S) to prepare a feasibility report for this project. After numerous visits to the site and local authorities this includesome visits to the houses those are very close to the site anda complete self-study about the site and its history the following report made by myself.

Construction Area

This site is a gorge land and its 2 feet lower from the road level. And its dimension is 40m * 35m. This site situated right between two main roads. The by road which connects thosetwo main road also a 12 feet tar road.

There is an empty land right in front of the site. West and south side of the site is covered by road. So material loading& unloading is quiet easy. The road also very quiet and apparently very few people use that. And also there’s lot of by roads and short cut roads for people access. So blocking the road for few hours for any construction process is not a big issue. Although we have to get a proper permission.

Temporary sheds can be erect here for multiple purposes such as material storage or a rest place for labourers. And also a site office can be erect in the empty land in front of our site. I had visited the land owner and he agreed with me to use his land temporarily for a rent of 7,000 a month.

Sanitary facility also can be arranged in the site. Local municipal council will provide that service and it will cost approximately around 30,000 a month.

Soil condition

The history books which were given to me by local authorities suggest that this particular site was a paddy field long time ago. A field visit also confirms that this land is marshy land. The soil is a type of clay. And the neighbours told me in rainy season it could take nearly a month to dry up. The Batticaloa River is very close to the site. Which means the water table is little higher here than the other areas. And there is saltiness in the soil and water also salty.

Water

Since the batticaloa river was so close to the site the water is salty. There for we cannot use it for drinking or any construction purpose. So we have to get the drinking water from the municipal council for the laborours. A plastic water tank also needed. And for the construction purpose we can get clean water from municipal council.

Power supply

there is minimum of fuss about getting power supply to the site. Electricity board stated that it would cost 25,000 for the initial setup. Main transformer of this are also situated near the site so if we need heavy voltage for our machinery uses they can arrange us a separate line with more capacity.

Available man power

According to local people there is a place called barathi puram where most of the masons and labourers living. I also heard that most of them had 10 to 15 years’ experience in masonary field. If we could hire them then the travelling distance is far lesser. There is also a building construction company nearby. If we need more numbers of labourers especially while concreting the slab time we can hire some labourers from them as they have more labourers.

Security arrangement

Security arrangement can be made. I had contacted Certis Lankaand they are ready to provide their service for us. For singlesecurity guard it will be 22,000 for a month. Also they have the CCTV service as well.

Transport facility

This site is only 50m away from the main road, and some 60m away from the nearest bus stop. On the other hand the central bus station for batticaloa is only a km away. There is bus running several times a day to all major cities of sri lanka. And also the batticloa train station is within 1km distance. There is a taxi (three wheeler) stand in 70m distance from thesite. So transport won’t be an issue here.

Staff accommodation

At the moment there are two big houses available for rent in this area very close the site. Up to 15 people can stay in each house. The rent will be between 15,000 to 20,000. And there are also some hotels and lodges very close to the site. Some very good restaurants also in neighbourhood. If we rentedout the house then we can hire a cook for the staffs.

Surrounding area

The beautiful batticaloa river is few meters away from the site. There is a Hindu temple situated near the site. Around 100 houses in this area, and looks like a posh area with full of working people. There is not too much traffic on the roads in day times.

There is a three storey private tuition centre next to the site.and in the main road we can find everything from quality food to religious places and several material suppliers. Education centres also some schools also situated near this area. Almost all the banks are inside 1km distance from the site. The main road is a large 4 carriage way road.

Machinery and Equipment usage

We can use all the necessary machinery and equipment’s for this construction. Though heavy vibration should be avoided. Also we may not be able to use the machineries which can causetoo much noise in the evening (after 3.00pm) as the private institution is next to the site. Before the start of the machineries use we may have to get the permission from the local authorities. And day time is most suitable for machineryusage.

My additional inputs

Care must be taken during the site clearance as I seen some snakes in the bushes.

Have to find a way for drainage since there is no drainage facility in both roads.

Security guard and CCTV is must. Because there are some reported robberies in this area.

I had observed lot of youngsters wandering around the site after 3.00pm everyday due to the private institution. So a proper fence is important to the site from day 1 to restrict anyone’s entry to the site. as they can hurt themselves in the working area.

Excavation is little trickier here so a JCB is needed. After top soil excavation (recommended 20mm) we have to

fill up the whole land to road level or may be little bitmore.

Pad foundation is recommended here as shallow foundation prove to be a failure in this area.

Dewatering facilities needed if we start the work in rainy season. The water table will be high.

Extra care must be taken when working with reinforcement bars because this land is salty so there is a chance for corrosion (especially when storing the rebars).

Final risk factor

Since there is no drainage system here the water collected from dewatering process has no way to dispose. We have to arrange alternative methods.

In heavy rainy seasons (December and January) this particular area is affected by flood almost every year, and also the Batticaloa River overflows into this area occasionally. So the storage of materials is in risk and possibility of delays are looming.

The general election is few months away, so a change in government can affect the progress of the project.

The possibility of inflation can affect us. We cannot store lot of materials because the rainy season is not far away.

My Recommendation

The unpredictability of weather is possible threat for this project. Almost all other factors are reliable. Material loading and unloading is easy here. Also this site is lot easier for access. Staff accommodation financial facilities and other facilities are good. So generally this is a good project. And if we put our whole heart effort in this project we can have success with great margin. Also we have to consider the other aspects such as Supply of raw materials, Environmental issues, Design standards, Production standards, Pricing and other Special requirements.

If there is no shuffles inside our organization during this project such as Insincerity /lack of integrity, Incapacity, Inadequacies, Loss of control, Incompatibility of goals, Senior staff changes, Inappropriate or lack of organizational structure, Lack of appropriate policies and procedures, Inadequate planning, Unrealistic scheduling, Lack of coordination and Inadequate project management then this project is there for taking. And I believe this will be a another successful project in our already dynamic organization.