Minister of Technology and Innovations Mr. Thilanga Sumathipala graced the closing ceremony of the highly successful Appropriate Technology Development Project between the Sri Lanka and the Republic of Korea as the Chief Guest with the special participation of the ambassador of Korea to Sri Lanka, Mr. Lee Heuong at the Waters Edge Hotel, Battaramulla on 10.12.2019.

This appropriate technology development project was initiated in 2017 in collaboration with the Coordinating Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation (COSTI) functioning under the State Ministry of Technology and Innovation, the Korea Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) and the Korean Innovation Promotion Association (KIPA). Two special projects which meets the social needs of the country were completed under this project with the technical and financial support of the Republic of Korea.

The first was the establishment of three water purification plants in areas with Chronic Kidney Disease of unknown etiology (CKDu). The first water purification plant was set up in Palagala in the Anuradhapura district. The machinery for the rest of the plants is already provided by the Republic of Korea to Sri Lanka. These plants will be set up in the Arachchikattuwa and Galenbindunuwewa areas.

The second special project was the introduction of low cost machines for the extraction of coconut oil from disposable coconut powder. One of these machines has been installed in the Kuliyapitiya West area while the other two have been installed at the National Engineering Research and Development Center (NERD) and the Industrial Technology Institute (ITI).

State Ministry Secretary Mr. Chinthaka S Lokuhetti, KIPO Deputy Director Mr. Kim Huent, KIPA Vice President Mr. Lee Dusseng and officials from the State Ministry of Technology and Innovation were also present at the occasion.