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Felicitating the godfather of entrepreneurship The NCE felicitated
Founder President and President Emeritus Patrick Amarasinghe at
a gala reception in March. Savithri Rodrigo relives some of the
memorable moments of the evening. The Lower Crystal
Room of the Taj Samudra was filled to capacity when over 225 members,
well wishers and valued business partners came together to felicitate
Patrick Amarasinghe for nearly two decades of service to the NCE
and Sri Lankan exporters. Held just after the Annual General Meeting
of the NCE, Felix Yahampath who took over the reins of President
last year, thought it fit that the NCE should show appreciation
to Amarasinghe who has been the lifeblood and backbone of the organisation
he founded in 1986, then known as the National Exporters' Association. Minister of
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Ravi Karunanayake recalled the times,
when as a rookie in the freight forwarding industry (before taking
up politics), Amarasinghe had been a light that guided him through
many a tough problem. "I am what I am today because of people
like Patrick," he said. "I don't think exporters in this
country will ever forget the yeomen service rendered by Patrick
for them nor will they forget the number of battles he has fought
on behalf of them. Thank you Patrick for all the advice and assistance
you have given me in my career." Having been
the head of the Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry of
Sri Lanka and a very active member of exporters and chamber fora,
Chief Guest, Karu Jayasuriya, Minister of Power and Energy said
that when he was appointed Ambassador to Germany, he was faced with
the task of finding a successor as head of the FCCISL. "Looking
around the chambers and other institutions, there was no doubt in
my mind that Patrick fitted the bill perfectly. I knew that he would
take the objectives and goals of the FCCISL seriously and carry
them through, if not better them. His dynamism and courage has stood
him in good stead and I am really honoured to be here today, to
pay tribute to such a great man." The citation
was delivered by Dr. Saman Kelegama, Executive Director, Institute
of Policy Studies and President of the Sri Lanka Economic Association
giving a comprehensive background to Amarasinghe's impressive career. A cash presentation
and commemorative plaque was presented by the NCE President while
Minister Jayasuriya placed a gold medal around the neck of Amarasinghe.
In his acceptance address, Amarasinghe lamented the state of the
country and urged the government to help local industrialists and
not fall prey to foreign imports. He also hoped the exporters will
continue to lobby the government to develop and improve strategies
and initiatives that he feels are not supportive enough for the
industrialists. "Everyone forgets that it is the exporters
of this country who toil morning, noon and night to bring in valuable
foreign exchange for the rest of the country to enjoy. But it is
not an easy task for them. They are met with harmful, unhelpful
and disapproving bureaucrats all the time. There is very
little help for them even if they want to better the industry and
some of them, actually give up the battle. Every country needs local
industry and we have so many resources that we can use them. Exporting
our human resources is not the answer. We boast of
a literacy rate of over 90%, but over one million people are working
in the Middle East as housemaids. We shouldn't be proud of that.
Look at the social ramifications of such actions." The NCE website was launched by Jayasuriya. More than 50 invited for Lanka donor meeting More than 50
governments, international financial institutions and NGOs have
been invited for the donor meeting in Washington on April 14 to
boost funding prospects for Sri Lanka's rehabilitation and reconstruction
process, a US embassy spokesman said. Bruce Lohof,
Public Affairs Director at USIS, said 58 invitations have been sent
out for the US-initiated meeting but he could not say how many have
confirmed participation. India has said
it would attend the meeting after the US rejected reports that the
LTTE had been invited for the meeting. Lohof quoted US Ambassador
Ashley Wills as saying that there was never any intention to invite
the LTTE or its associated organisations for the meeting, which
is a preparatory session before the Tokyo summit in June The Washington meeting would bring together finance ministers, development leaders and Sri Lankan leaders attending the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank. Presentations will be made by US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, Economic Reforms Minister Milinda Moragoda, Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen and the IMF and the World Bank, among others at the half-day meeting. Suntel leads telecom industry in service quality In the highly
competitive telecommunications market, Suntel Ltd., the pioneering
Wireless Local Loop (WLL) operator, is clearly ahead of the rest
in terms of service quality as per findings by the industry regulator,
the company said. Suntel comfortably
outstripped competition in all four parameters of the Telecommunications
Regulatory Commission's (TRC's) recently published key indicators
of fixed access telecom operators for the period ended third quarter
of 2002 in terms of quality of services. TRC compared the performance
of all three fixed access operators on the basis of four parameters
- best connectivity (call completion ratio); best in rapid response
(faults cleared within 24 hours); best in customer service (faults
cleared within 72 hours) and lowest number of faults (faults per
100 direct exchange lines). The company's
call completion ratio was the best at 56.63%, rapid response in
fault clearance was an impressive 96.67% while in terms of faults
cleared within 72 hours Suntel topped the list with a ratio of 99.33%
and was ranked lowest in terms of faults. Managing Director Hugo Cederschiold attributed Suntel's success to substantial investments in technology and human resources and training which are essential to maintain such high standards in service quality. Industries from Eppawala phosphate deposit By Professor
R.P. Gunawardane The rock phosphate
deposit at Eppawala was discovered by the Geological Survey Department
in 1971. The proved reserve is about 25 million tonnes. Although
an inferred reserve of another 40 million tonnes has been estimated
this has yet to be confirmed. In comparison
with other phosphate deposits in the world, Eppawala deposit is
unique not only due to its high phosphorus content but also due
to its relatively easy beneficiation. However, its solubility is
low limiting its direct application as a fertilizer. Nevertheless,
it can readily be used as a raw material for the manufacture of
a variety of more soluble commercial fertilizers. In addition, it
may also be utilized to manufacture many other industrial products. Ground Eppawala
rock phosphate is presently used for perennials such as tea, rubber,
coconut and spice crops such as pepper and coffee. Owing to the
low solubility of the rock it is not recommended for rice, vegetables,
potatoes, chilli, onion and other short-term crops. Imported triple
superphosphate (TSP) is used for these crops. In addition, Sri Lanka
imports more soluble rock phosphate for some perennials, and small
amounts of diammonium phosphate (DAP) for certain nurseries. The
total foreign exchange used for this import is around $10-12 million
annually. The rock phosphate
deposit at Eppawala is rich in phosphorus containing about 34-40
percent total phosphorus expressed as a percentage phosphorus pentoxide.
However, its water solubility is about 0.5 percent and solubility
in two percent citric acid, which measures the agronomic availability
of phosphorus, is estimated to be about five percent. It has more
chlorine than fluorine and therefore classified as a chlorfluorapatite. Apatite has
an extremely stable crystal structure, which can withstand soil
weathering conditions. The presence of relatively high chlorine
content in Eppawala apatite is a special feature in this mineral.
Most phosphate deposits in the world contain more fluorine than
chlorine. Chlorine positions in the structural framework of Eppawala
apatite are under strain and as such it is relatively easy to replace
chlorine with other groups at high temperature. This enhances its
reactivity at high temperature leading to more soluble products. Potential industries The industrial
products that can be manufactured from rock phosphate include P-fertilizers,
pharmaceuticals, biomaterials (artificial limbs, teeth, etc.), analytical
reagents, animal feeds, phosphoric acid, phophorus and many industrial
phosphates including baking materials, detergents, emulsifiers,
etc. P-fertilizers include powdered rock, superphosphates (SSP,
TSP, PAPR), ammonium phosphates (MAP, DAP), nitrophosphates, rhenania
phosphate, fused calcium magnesium phosphates etc. Depending on
the nature of soils and the crops grown, widely different phosphate
fertilizer products are employed by different countries in the world. Superphosphates
and ammonium phosphates dominate the phosphate fertilizer industry.
For instance DAP/MAP account for 30 percent while superphosphates
account for 29 percent of the world consumption. Total phosphate
consumption in the world is about 40 million tonnes annually, of
which more than 95 percent is processed phosphates based on phosphate
rock, apatite. The cost of production is highest in DAP/MAP while
it is lowest in the powdered rock. Single superphosphate(SSP) has
the lowest cost of production among processed phosphates. The superphosphate
family of phosphate fertilizers includes two major products - SSP
and TSP. Superphosphates are made by the reaction of ground rock
phosphate with sulphuric or phosphoric acid followed by curing.
The reaction goes to completion during curing. The phosphate-containing
component in the product is monocalcium phosphate. SSP contains
gypsum (a calcium sulphate) in addition to monocalcium phosphate.
SSP and TSP contain about 24 percent and 45 percent available phosphorus
pentoxide respectively. Phosphoric acid needed for the production
of TSP may be manufactured from phosphate rock itself. Wet process
involves the complete reaction of apatite with sulphuric acid to
produce phosphoric acid. Phosphogypsum is produced as the major
by-product of this process and the process requires high technology.
Phosphoric acid may also be produced by a thermal method. In the
thermal process phosphorus is produced from apatite by the reaction
with coke and silica at 13000C. Phosphorus thus produced is oxidised
and the resulting oxide is reacted with water to produce phosphoric
acid. Ammonium phosphates
(DAP/MAP) are produced by the reaction of phosphoric acid with ammonia.
The process involves production of phosphoric acid from apatite,
production of ammonia and reaction of ammonia with the acid followed
by granulation. In addition sulphuric acid is also needed in the
phosphoric acid production stage. A large capital expenditure with
high technology is needed for such a manufacturing unit. Nitrophosphate is a generally accepted term for any fertilizer that is produced by a process involving a treatment of phosphate rock with nitric acid. In the nitrophosphate process P-fertilizer is produced completely independent of sulphur. As in MAP/DAP the product contains another important plant nutrient N in addtion to P. In this process it is possible to add sulphuric acid and or phosphoric acid or ammonium phosphate to adjust Nitrogen and Phosphorus ratio in the final product. Fertilizer products Thermal phosphates
are produced by heat treatment of apatite with fluxes such as soda
ash, dolomite, etc. Fusing apatite with fluxes followed by quenching
and crushing produces fused phosphates. Thermal phosphate products
are not extensively used today because of high fuel costs involved
in their production. However, if indigenous raw materials are available
such processes may be viable in certain countries. In the production
of soluble phosphate fertilizers from Eppawala apatite due consideration
should be given to the geochemical nature and extent of the deposit,
local agronomic requirements and cost factors. Furthermore optimum
use of local raw materials, low capital investment, plantation requirements
and acceptability of the product by the farmers should be given
adequate consideration. In addition to its direct application as a P-fertilizer to prennials such as tea, rubber and coconut, this deposit may be utilized to manufacture the following fertilizers. *Super phosphates SSP or SAB-PAPR
production involves only the acidulation stage followed by curing.
TSP manufacture involves two stages: production of phosphoric acid
by Wet process using rock phosphate and sulphuric acid followed
by acidulation of rock phosphate with phosphoric acid. *Ammonium Phosphates: DAP/MAP may
be produced by first producing phosphoric acid using Wet Process
followed by granulation of acid with ammonia. Ammonia has to be
manufactured locally or may be imported. *Nitro phosphates :Nitrophos fertilizers are manufactured by first producing nitric acid, followed by complete or partial acidulation of rock phosphate with nitric acid. *Rehenania phosphate
: Rhenania phosphate
(a calcium sodium phosphate) production involves heat treatment
of apatite at 9000C with silica sand and soda ash or caustic soda
in a rotary kiln for about two hours. Local research After extensive
research over 25 years, the Sri Lankan scientists have developed
and patented the following processes for the manufacture of P-fertilizer
from Eppawala apatite. 1.Soda ash process to produce rhenania type product with 26 percent available P 2.Caustic soda
process to produce rhenania type product with 26 percent available
P 3.Hydrochochloric
acid complete/partial acidulation to produce dicalcium phosphate
/HCl-PARP with 16-18 percent available P 4.Sulphuric
acid complete/ partial acidulation to produce SSP/ SAB-PAPR with
17-20 percent available P 5.Nitric acid
partial acidulation to produce NITROPARP with 15 percent available
P and eight percent N. All these processes
can be used to produce P-fertilizers from Eppawala rock phosphate.
These methods utilize simple machinery with low capital cost, use
readily available local raw materials and could employ local expertise
exclusively for its implementation. Among the processes developed
sulphuric acid based partial acidulation appears to be more appropriate
for Sri Lanka because of the lowest capital cost, low cost of the
product, farmers acceptability and ease of handling and storage
of the partially acidulated product. Considering
all the factors the most feasible P-fertilizer products for use
in Sri Lanka agriculture would be single superphosphate (SSP) and
partially acidulated phosphate rock (SAB-PAPR). However, if further
proven resources are established at Eppawala, an export oriented
TSP or MAP/DAP production plant may be considered as the second
stage of development with or without foreign collaboration. Exploitation Up to now Eppawala
apatite has been considered only as a raw material for fertilizer
industry. It is essential that the production of biomaterials and
other important industrial products with much higher value addition
also should be given serious consideration. More research is urgently
needed in this direction to establish the suitability of our deposit
for these new industries. It must be stressed that in the development of the Eppawala deposit, it is necessary to employ strategies that will yield maximum benefits to the national economy. This includes
provision of powdered rock to meet domestic requirements for perennials,
manufacture of more soluble fertilizer for short-term crops such
as paddy, vegetables etc. and exploring possibilities for the production
of biomaterials and other new industrial products from this deposit. It must be
realized that this deposit is a non-renewable natural resource situated
in a traditional village environment. Thus, environmental aspects
as well as social issues at Eppawala village should be given utmost
consideration. Alternative
industries suggested above may reduce possible environment hazards
and minimize social problems at Eppawala village. In any event,
it is essential that the rate of exploitation of this deposit should
be carefully controlled so that many future generations could benefit
from it. Establishment
of P-fertilizer manufacturing unit based on Eppwala apatite has
been long overdue. It is regrettable to note that there is no such
plant in operation as yet despite the fact that the deposit was
discovered over 30 years ago. At present Sri Lanka spends $10-12
million (about a billion rupees) annually for the import of soluble
P-fertizers. Therefore,
there is an urgent need to establish a P-fertilizer plant(s) based
on Eppawala rock phosphate. At present sufficient scientific, technological
and agronomic data are available to make a decision regarding this
matter. Furthermore,
scientific and technological expertise is available locally for
the successful implementation of such a proposal. If such a production unit is established it would certainly save about one billion rupees in foreign exchange to this country, leave alone any additional earnings from the export of locally produced P-fertilizer. |
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