ADB, JICA fund Kilinochchi, Chunnakum power supply

Total project value tops Rs 6,759 million:

Charumini de Silva

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) will expand its electricity supply from Vavuniya to Kilinochchi and another project from Kilinochchi to Chunnakum this Thursday.

The two projects are funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) with an investment of Rs 3,559 million (US $32.79 million) while Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) contributes Rs 3,200 million (US $29.48 million), a CEB spokesman told Daily News Business.

The projects are scheduled to be completed in two years.

These two projects will supply electricity to the Jaffna peninsula from the national grid supply.

This is the first time that the CEB is supplying electricity to the Jaffna peninsula from the national grid’s main line.

The CEB expects to provide a reliable and uninterrupted service to the public.

The share of the CEB in total electricity generation stood at 55 percent last year compared to the 58 percent in 2008.

This was mainly due to slowdown in the industrial sector.

The share of the private power producers stood at 44 percent of the total electricity generation, the annual report of the Central Bank said.

Rural electrification schemes have been given priority in the Government infrastructure program due to the high socio-economic returns associated with those schemes. Several projects have been carried out during last year to extend rural electrification.

The Rural Electrification Project VI and Conflict Affected Area Rehabilitation Project (CAARP) have been implemented.

The rehabilitation and expansion work of electricity transmission in the Northern and the Eastern provinces have provided electricity for over 20,000 households affected by the conflict. Rural Electrification Project IV and Rural Electrification Project VIII were also carried out by the CEB in 2009, the report said.