CCC commends Norochcholai coal power plant

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce has commended the government's ceremonial launching of the construction phase of the coal power plant in Norochcholai on May 11.

A statement from the chamber said the public at large as well as trade and industry interest groups are encouraged by the political will and commitment displayed to address a key bottleneck on power generation that retarded the growth of the economy and consequently the progress of the country.

Similar bottlenecks have for too long been retarding the capacity of governments, to meet the rising expectations of the public, to achieve a better standard of living. The Chamber of Commerce appreciates the practical decisions taken by the Ministry of Power and Energy to address the humanitarian concerns of the few that are affected in locating the power plant at Norochcholai.

"We strongly believe that though belated, the implementation of the project will add 900 mw to generation capacity in three phases of 300 mw each with the first phase coming into operation by 2010.

This project will enable the generation of reliable power at a greatly reduced cost to government as well as avert a power crisis as has periodically happened in the recent past. This will also reduce the risk of an over-dependence on just two forms of power by adding a third source of power generation through coal."

"We will continue to emphasise to the government and the Ministry of Power and Energy in particular, the importance of moving ahead on the other initiatives such as the Power Sector Reforms, that will improve operational efficiencies and reduce the debt burden of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB)," the statement said.