President to open National NDT Centre in October

by Kurulu Kariyakarawana

President Mahinda Rajapaksa will open the National Centre for Non-Destructive Testing (NCNDT) in October, another giant leap in the field of science and technology in Sri Lanka, Chairman Atomic Energy Authority Dr. Ranjith Wijewardena said.

Non-Destructive Testing or popularly known as NDT is the science of testing materials to reveal hidden defects without damaging the materials. These materials could be iron, steel and aluminium or solids like concrete.

The Atomic Energy Authority under the guidance of the Ministry of Technology, Research and Atomic Energy launched the project to set up a National Centre for NDT in 2009 with Rs. 594 million provided by the Treasury.

A one and half acre land in Kelaniya was chosen for the construction by the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation on a Design, Built and Transfer policy. Minister Basil Rajapaksa laid the foundation stone for the four-storeyed building in 2011.

Similar to the sophisticated Gamma Ray Centre, the necessity to set up a full-fledged centre for NTD technology was felt by the Authority and the Ministry for a long time, Dr. Wijewardena said.

The spacious centre will house 16 laboratories, four lecture halls, an examination hall, an auditorium, three practical rooms, space for Certificate Body for NDT, a heavy machinery facility, a welder-training and qualification facility, space for scientific and administrative staff.

When the centre is set up, Sri Lanka could carry out high-tech laboratory tests related to the NDT field, similar to the neighbouring countries in the region such as India, Pakistan, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam. This will save billions of rupees as the country does not have to depend on foreign expertise anymore.

A 45-strong staff of which 28 are already serving for the AEA including 18 graduates has been recommended for the Centre.