China PM will commission Lakvijaya final phase

The final phase of the Lakvijaya coal Power Plant in Puttlam will be commissioned by the visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Mahinda Rajapaksa on September 16, a release from the Power and Energy Ministry said.

Under the second phase of the project, 600 MW electricity will be generated which in turn will be dispatched to Anuradhapura via 234 high voltage towers. Once the second phase is commissioned, Lakvijaya will infuse a total of 900MW to the national grid thus reinforcing the sector amply to face future challenges.

The construction of the power plant commenced under a concessionary loan of US $ 1346 million by the Chinese Government in May 2006. The first phase of the power plant was declared open by President Rajapaksa in March 2011 and the commercial production of electricity began in July 2011.

The Government has been able to save Rs.65 billion up to December 2013 as a result of cheap power generated at Lakvijaya, the Ministry release stated.

During Xi's visit to Sri Lanka the two governments will sign a new technical cooperation agreement to ensure smooth functioning of the coal power plant and stop frequent breakdowns suffered presently. The Chinese Ambassador told a group of journalists in Colombo that the technical cooperation will be made available free to the Engineers at the CEB by the Chinese construction contractor following the bi-lateral agreement.