Sampur construction to begin in July

Ridma Dissanayake

Arrangements are in place to commence the construction of the Sampur Coal Power Plant by July 2013, Power and Energy Minister Pavithra Wannirachchi said. The Sampur Coal Power Plant, to be constructed in Trincomalee, will add another 500 MWs to the national grid. This is a joint venture between the state owned NTPC Ltd of India and the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) of Sri Lanka.

Power and Energy Ministry sources said this will create another landmark in bilateral economic cooperation between India and Sri Lanka.

The power station at Sampur with a total investment of US $ 512 million would be Sri Lanka’s second coal-fired power plant. The construction is to begin by July this year. The plant is slated to be commissioned by 2018, the sources said.

The CEB and NTPC will together invest US $ 150. The balance is to be provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This project is a 50:50 joint venture between the CEB and NTPC. The government allocated a 500 acre land in Sampur to construct infrastructure. The government will also construct the coal unloading jetty and install related equipment. The Indian government has offered a concessionary line of credit of US $ 200 million to Sri Lanka to expedite the construction of infrastructure, they said.

The jetty needed to transfer the coal is to be built by a BOI company. This will be 700 metres in length. The electricity transmission line of 150 kilometres with a capacity of 220 watts is to be developed under this project as an electricity transmission line with less heat energy loss, the source said. Japan International Corporation Agency will provide Japanese yen 9,573 million for the project. The project will commence next year, the ministry sources said.