Massive development in power and energy
Disna MUDALIGE
The government yesterday said that the country will witness massive
development in the power and energy sector by 2014 with the completion
of the Lak Vijaya power project and the Upper Kotmale hydro power
project adding more than 1,000 MW of power to the National Grid.
According to Power and Energy Minister Patali Champaka Ranawaka,
construction of Lak Vijaya Coal Power Plant Phase II to add another 300
MW to the National Grid is to be completed by January 2013, 10 months
ahead of the scheduled time of the contract, on the directive of
President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Minister Ranawaka also said that the Lak Vijaya power plant would be
closed for 10 days beginning from September 28 to replace the Sulpher
extractor which was destroyed in recent fire.
Minister Ranawaka was speaking at the official handing over of phase
one of the Lak Vijaya project to the Governmet of Sri Lanka in Colombo
yesterday. The minister noted that the Lak Vijaya project was
commissioned when the country was in need of an expansion of power
supply to cover the entire country.
It has also become a great relief during the present power crisis of
the country.
He said that the contribution of hydro power from June to September
was so low as 20 percent. With rains experienced in the catchment areas
from first week of September, hydro power generation has increased to 35
percent. He also noted that necessary renovation work at hydro plants
such as Rantambe, Bowatenna, Victoria and Kotmale were carried out when
the hydro elctricity generation of such plants were very low.
Chinese Mechinery Enginering Corporation’s vice president Li Chao Yan
said that CMEC has granted USD 450 million to reduce interest rates for
phase one. |