Sri Lanka to adopt low-cost, local technology on water treatment
JAKARTA (JP): Sri Lanka is interested in adopting low-cost, locally developed water treatment technology which is now being tested at the Kemang Pratama housing complex in Bekasi.
"We are conducting a good-will mission here, while checking the possibility of transferring the technology," Sri Lankan Minister of Housing, Construction and Urban Development Sirisena Cooray, said yesterday.
The minister is here to meet his Indonesian counterparts, Minister of Public Housing Akbar Tandjung and Minister of Public Works Radinal Moochtar.
After a briefing from Radinal at his office yesterday, Cooray left for Bekasi to see the low-cost water treatment at the Kemang Pratama estate.
Vice director of the estate, Onradt Sudarno, escorted Cooray and his entourage to the location. He told The Jakarta Post that the water treatment site is a pilot project for the new technology.
The water moves through a narrow ditch, in which bricks and pieces of wood are positioned to slow down water flow. Then, the water flows over corroded iron bars which act as a coagulator of dirts. This is followed by the introduction of chemical 'slimes' to leech out the remaining impurities. Finally alum is added to sterilize and purify the water.
The water installation at the estate uses Bekasi river water, which is heavily polluted, as its main input.
The technology uses wastes of palm oil which are later transformed into building materials. Radinal said that this technology, which is currently being applied only to one story houses, will be tried out on two-story buildings.
Radinal noted that the visit by the Sri Lankan minister is important, and that the exchange of technological know-how among developing countries was important in the context of the South cooperation.
"We have imported their technology on low-cost housing construction which is now being implemented at the Karawaci housing complex in Tangerang... If (the technology for the water project) turns out to be successful, we will re-export the revised version to the country of origin," Radinal joked. (11)