CWE MILK POWDER FACTORY, COLOMBO, SRI LANKA
In 1980 Alister was asked to go to Sri Lanka, based in Colombo, to be Resident Engineer overseeing the construction of what was then (and probably still is) the biggest milk powder repackaging plant in the world. The project budget was approx. NZ$14m, took over four years and had a work force on site of over 900 people.
When first asked to think about this role, Alister had to go home and get out an atlas to confirm where Sri Lanka was. He had a new born daughter at the time so this was a huge decision for his family. His ever supportive wife agreed to go, even though their family doctor thought they were being quite negligent as parents taking a baby to that part of the world (back in 1980, this was really stepping into the unknown).
As resident Engineer you supervise all on site activity, vet and approve variations required, and provide the interface with the client which in this case was the Cooperative Wholesale Establishment, a State Owned Enterprise, within the Ministry of The Interior.
The project was hugely demanding with severe limitations on the skill and experience of local resources available, but the Dutch contractor eventually completed the job. Whilst Alister found it interesting from an engineering perspective, he found it even more interesting from a political, cultural and human interest point of view.
Sri Lanka has a very colourful history with the indigenous people (Vedda) all but wiped out when the country was invaded by the Sinhalese people from North India approx 600 years ago. Some 200 years later the Tamil people arrived from south India, and therein the simmering conflict arose. Overlay on that the Portuguese settlers known as Burgers and then the British colonialists and you have a very complex situation.
The project was completed about two weeks before the situation erupted in May 1983, which saw approximately 20% of Colombo burnt out, and horrendous interracial rioting and killing taking place. The factory had its own security force and fire fighting Team (including a fire engine sent from NZ) and it survived the turmoil with no damage.
International contracting, with a company the size of Ballast Nedam, is demanding as they are powerful forces themselves. The project had some very difficult moments but diplomacy between all parties managed to see common sense prevail and a successful project completed.