• 9th and 10th shipments with 120,000 MTs expected this week 

The full payment for the eighth shipment of coal to the country, which arrived on the morning of 15 January, has already been settled, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) said.

When contacted by The Morning to inquire into the status of the payments for the seventh and eighth coal shipments, CEB Additional General Manager (Generation Division) and Spokesman Eng. Dhammika Navaratne said: “The payment for the seventh shipment was settled and we also settled the balance payment of 70% for the eighth shipment on 13 January. We had to settle 30% of the payment for all coal shipments as an advance payment.” 

The unloading of the eighth shipment also commenced on the same day.

Meanwhile, the ninth and tenth coal shipments carrying 60,000 metric tonnes (MTs) of coal each are expected to arrive tomorrow (18) and on 19 January, respectively.

Speaking to The Morning on 11 January, Navaratne stated that of the 70% of the full payment owed to the supplier for the seventh shipment of coal, a portion had been settled and that the balance is expected to be settled within the week.

However, speaking at a media briefing a day earlier, CEB Engineers’ Union President Nihal Weeraratne alleged that although preparations were made to unload the seventh shipment, they were unable to do so as the payment for the same was yet to be settled. 

“The seventh ship has arrived and as of 9 January, the 70% due has not been paid. It is still docked at sea. Although we made preparations to unload the stocks of coal, there is no way to do so because the payment has not been made. There would not be an issue if the payment is settled by today or tomorrow, but, the more it is delayed, the more we will have to pay in demurrages. The Treasury won’t bear this sum, nor will the Lanka Coal Company or the politicians, and ultimately, this will have to be borne by the electricity consumers,” he said.