On 20 July 2017, the project “Mitigation of Pollution at Kandy Lake and Mid-Canal, Sri Lanka” has been awarded the Prestigious Engineering Achievement Award (PEAA) by the Institute of Engineers, Singapore (IES).
The project was a collaboration between UOP’s Faculty of Engineering and the Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute (NEWRI, Singapore). Dr Shameen Jinadasa, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Civil Engineering was the project’s Principal Investigator.
Professor Leelananda Rajapaksha, Dean of Faculty of Engineering, and Dr Shameen Jinadasa was present to receive the award with Professor Ng Wun Jern, Executive Director of NEWRI, during the World Engineers’ Summit 2017 in Singapore.
Singapore’s Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Masagos Zulkifli bin Masagos Mohamad, presented the award. In his opening speech, Mr Masagos gave special mention to the project, for its contribution to the people of Kandy.
The IES PEAA Award gives recognition to achievements of organisations or persons responsible for an outstanding engineering project. Projects are assessed on (1) innovative engineering practices and environmental sustainability, (2) contribution to general public, society & nation with considerations of the commercial and social impact delivered, and (3) represent a significantly improved solution over an existing practice.
The project was made possible through strong collaboration and support from the Kandy community and authorities. In the project team was the Kandy Irrigation Department, National Water Supply and Drainage Board, Kandy Municipal Council, and the Central Environmental Authority.
The Faculty of Engineering is continuing its cooperation with NEWRI. Currently, the project team is carrying out a research and development project at the Kurunegala Lake.