Mega power supply project for North

Uditha Kumarasinghe

COLOMBO: The Government has launched a mega power project to rehabilitate electricity transmission lines from Kilinochchi to Jaffna for the provision of an uninterrupted electricity supply to the Northern Province.

The Power and Energy Ministry will commence the restoration of the 132 KV transmission line from Kilinochchi to Jaffna including the construction of a 132 KV grid substation at Chunnakam, a Power and Energy Ministry spokesman told the Daily News yesterday.

The Ministry will upgrade and renovate the protection schemes of 220 KV relays and transformers under the Kilinochchi-Chunnakam Transmission Project, he said.

The Cabinet approved Power and Energy Minister W.D.J. Seneviratne's memorandum to implement this mega power project.

According to the Minister, the project's total estimated cost is nearly Rs. 2575.1 million. KFW of Germany will provide Rs. 1,687 million while the Ceylon Electricity Board will allocate Rs. 888 million. Two loan agreements have been signed between KFW and the Finance Ministry, Seneviratne said.

The international competitive bidding procedure as per KFW Guidelines will be adopted for the procurement and the selection of the consultant.

Meanwhile, the Government has launched a series of power projects to expand the country's electricity supply to reach 90 per cent of the population in its ambitious programme of "Electricity for All" by Year 2010". Only 75 per cent of country's population receive electricity at present, he said.

In a bid to achieve this target, 426 rural electrification projects are being commissioned in Sabaragamuwa, North Western, Central and Southern Provinces with Chinese Government funding under the Ministry's "Ratnapradeepa Rural Electricity Project".

Another flagship Millennium Electricity project has also been commenced with funding by the US Government targeting 450 rural electrification projects selected countrywide including the North and East. Further 630 rural power projects are also in progress under ADB funding.