CEB, NTPC joint venture:

Sampur coal power project on track

by Uditha Kumarasinghe

Power and Energy Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi said plans are under way to launch construction work on the 500 MW Sampur coal power project at Trincomalee, a joint venture between the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and the National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd (NTPC) of India.

The project report has been referred to the Attorney General for approval. When approval is obtained, the Ministry will give the green light for the CEB and the NTPC to go ahead with the project.

Construction work on the Sampur project is scheduled to commence this year and its power generation will be linked to the national grid by mid 2016, the Minister told the Sunday Observer yesterday.

She said the Ministry also hopes to complete the second phase of the Norochcholai coal power plant this year which would add 300 MW to the national grid. The third stage of the Norochcholai project is also due to be completed by the middle of next year with another 300 MW.

The percentage of coal power electricity generation can be increased to nearly 55 percent with the contribution from the Sampur and Norochcholai coal power plants.

The commissioning of these power plants is also expected to minimise CEB’s dependence on purchasing power from private power suppliers and the operation of fuel and thermal based power plants.

The Japanese Government has pledged assistance to construct a coal power plant in the South following a request by President Mahinda Rajapaksa on his recent visit to Japan.

The Japanese Ambassador and officials held discussions with Minister Wanniarachchi on the proposed project recently. At present the Ministry is drafting the project report. Steps are also being taken to set up another hydro power project at Uma Oya. The Broadlands Hydropower project was commissioned at Kithulgala last week, she said. According to the agreements signed by the earlier regimes with private sector power companies, the CEB has to pay the fuel and production costs to them. The Ministry has sought legal advice from the Attorney General to ascertain whether there is any possibility of amending these agreements, she said.