Cabinet green lights JV with India for LNG power plant

• 500MW power plant in Kerawalapitiya to be set up with India 
• Project implemented on government-to-government basis with Indian Company NTPC

 By Chathuri Dissanayake

Cabinet this week granted approval to Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) to sign a joint venture (JV) with NTPC of India to set up the much-awaited 500MW liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Kerawalapitiya. 

The approval was granted, subjected to legal clearance by the Attorney General, following a proposal made by Power and Renewable Energy Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya, Cabinet Co-Spokesperson Minister Gayantha Karunathilaka said yesterday, speaking at the weekly Cabinet press briefing. 

The project was included in the memorandum of understanding signed during Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s State visit to India last year to build a LNG plant in Kerawalapitiya as a JV on a government-to-government basis. 

This was part of the Sri Lankan Government’s plan to set up three LNG plants with the help of China, Japan and India. 

The JV agreement was formulated after two rounds of discussions by the joint working group for power between Sri Lanka and India, co-chaired by the two secretaries of the Power Ministries of the two countries. 

Following the signing of the MOU, the Cabinet was presented with a proposal to sign an agreement forming a JV with Indian Company NTPC to build the Kerawalapitiya plant submitted in November last year. The paper has been granted approval with recommendations by the National Economic Council following in-depth discussions.