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| Sunday, 11 July 2004 |
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'No need to delay Norochcholai' by Shanika Sriyananda If commissioning of the Norochcholai Coal Power Project (NCPP) pushed further, purchasing of power from the private sector is inevitable to cater to the increasing demand for electricity, which grows at a rate of 10 percent annually, Power and Energy Minister Susil Premajayantha told the 'Sunday Observer'. According to Minister Premajayantha, there is no need to delay the commissioning of the NCPP since the feasibility study and environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the project have already been completed. "There is no environmental pollution due to power plant and the selected site is the suitable site for the power project", he confirmed. Minister said that the country was far behind the schedule time of commissioning the NCPP and further delaying would make a national power crisis. " Ultimately this will lead to purchasing power from private sector, where we have to pay Rs. 8 to 12 per unit, which is not affordable for the majority of the country's people" he added. "With the NCPP, which will generate 300 MW at the initial phase and 600 MWs later, a power unit will be Rs. 4 and in long run it will be Rs. 3", he pointed out adding that coal would be the cheapest source of energy generation in the world. According to Minister Premajayantha, if the NCPP was commissioned this year it would be completed by 2009 but by pushing it further it will take another seven years to complete. Minister said that the Treasury Secretary, who is now in Tokyo will hold negotiations with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), which was interested in granting a soft loan earlier, on funding matters. However, according to Minister Premajayantha, the Ministry is ready to look into the social problems in the area and assured that no damage would be caused to the ancient church in Norochcholai. "Some elements with ulterior motives say that there are severe environmental problems and also the NCPP is not economically viable. But no government will spend on projects that is not economically viable", he pointed out. Meanwhile, the Institute of Engineers of Sri Lanka (IESL) has highly commended the government's move to implement the NCPP immediately. |
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