Identification of the most suitable locations for rock quarrying to supply aggregate requirements of the Colombo Port City development project

Abstract

‘Colombo Port City Development Project’ aims at reclaiming a minimum of 269 hectares of waterfront sheltered by Colombo South Harbour Breakwater for mixed development activities. It has been estimated that a total requirement of 26.6 million m3 of dredged sand and 3.45 million m3 of quarry materials for the reclamation and construction of coastal structures. The main objective of the present study is to assess and characterize the capability of identified quarry sites to provide different categories of rock for the project. The quarry site assessment of eleven quarries were carried out by incorporating factors such as rock quality parameters, mineable rock volume, type of rock, jointing or racturing in the rock mass, licence category, mining, hydrogeological and socio economic aspects. The data were gathered using numerous sources. Having combined geographic information systems (GIS) and Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE), the present study sought to locate the most suitable areas for rock quarrying to supply rock materials to Port City Project. The findings of the research indicate that four quarry sites are most capable of supplying all categories of rock and rest are more suitable for supplying rock products below 500 kg. Further findings of the research include suitable transportation routes and capacities for rock materials, potential adverse impacts on supplying materials and corresponding mitigatory measures to be adopted.