BOT basis for bidding:

International tenders for LNG plant in Kerawalapitiya

By Rukshana Rizwie

In a bid to circumvent an impending power crisis, the government will call for international tenders to set up a 300 Megawatt Liquefied Natural Gas Plant (LNG) in Kerawalapitiya as early as July 15, Ceylon Electricity Board(CEB) media spokesperson Sulakshana Jayewardene told the Sunday Observer.

The proposed plant is to be built on a 25 acre land in Kerawalapitiya, while the plant will be run on a dual fuel basis. Requests for proposals are to be called by July 15 while Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) would be the basis for the bidding, the Sunday Observer reliably learns.

Sources said financing of the project on a BOT basis would be ideal in this scenario as it would enable the project proponent to recover its investment, operating and maintenance expenses from this project.

“There will no coal power plants in the country as the proposed LNG plants in Sampur needs to be extensively studied. At present, we are planning to call for tenders for the LNG plant in Kerawalapitiya,” Jayewardene said.

The power station will utilize two 100 MW gas turbines, one steam turbine and will generate approximately 1,800 GWh annually.