- Alleges Cabinet paper submitted surreptitiously
- Claims piped gas system, floating gas storage complex and supply to be handed over
- US company to develop 350 MW gas plant with Lakdhanavi
Dissanayake alleged that in addition to the 40% shares of the Yugadanavi Power Plant, the construction of a pipe system which will be used to bring in gas, a floating storage complex which will be used to store gas and the gas supply have been handed over to the US company in question through the relevant Cabinet paper.
“The foreign policy of this Government has been to sell the national resources to certain other countries such as India, the US and China. The Colombo Port City Economic Commission Act which was recently passed in the Parliament has given a lot of power to a Chinese company and now there are discussions ongoing to hand over the oil tanks in Trincomalee and its Harbour to India,” he further alleged.
Dissanayake claimed that those who take over the energy sector in the country would gain control of the country in the future.
He noted that the Yugadanavi Power Plant, which has a capacity of about 300 megawatts (MW), was wholly owned by State owned companies.
“The Treasury held over 50% of the shares. The Government owned Lanka Electricity Company Private Limited (LECO), the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) and LTL Holdings Private Limited own the remaining stake,” he elaborated.
Speaking further, he said that another 300 MW liquefied natural gas (LNG) power plant is also being constructed near the Yugadanavi Power Plant as an extension, and that accordingly, the total capacity of the power plant would be 600 MW by 2025. He added that it has also been planned to increase it to 1,000 MW. It is against this backdrop that the Government has given 40% of its shares owned by the Treasury, he claimed.
Dissanayake spoke about a plan through which the entire Yugadanavi Power Plant would be owned by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) by 2035.
“According to the agreements with the CEB, by 2035, the Yugadanavi Power Plant owned by State companies should be wholly owned by the CEB. In this context, the Government and Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, who is also a US citizen, are working to hand over the largest power plant to an American company in this manner.”
He also said that while tenders have been called for the construction of a gas pipeline system and a floating storage complex for storing gas at the said Power Plant, the Cabinet paper has also awarded the said two constructions to the same company. He noted that although the gas required for the Power Plant had to be procured through tenders, monthly or annually, the opportunity to supply the gas had also been given to the relevant American company for a period of five years, thereby disabling the call for tenders.
Noting that any Cabinet paper would usually be handed over to the Ministers by at least Friday if the Cabinet of Ministers meets on Monday, Dissanayake claimed that the Cabinet paper in question had not been given to the Ministers in that manner. He further alleged that even the Power Minister Dullas Alahapperuma, had not been given that Cabinet paper in prior and that the latter too had only seen it at the Cabinet meeting.
He further said: “In addition, the relevant Ministers have the right to submit observations on any Cabinet proposal, but Alahapperuma and Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila have been instructed to make immediate observations regarding this Cabinet proposal. Accordingly, a period of 24 hours has been granted and they have made observations, but the initial Cabinet paper which was submitted, has been approved.”
Dissanayake also accused the Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa of misleading certain Cabinet Ministers and having obtained the approval for the proposal.
“Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa was the Finance Minister at the time of preparing this Cabinet paper and Basil Rajapaksa at the time of presenting it. This American company has been given shares of a national asset that has a decisive impact on national security, as if the Rajapaksas were selling a property they own in Medamulana,” he charged.
He added that the relevant agreement signed between the Finance Ministry and the US-based company in question had not been brought to the Parliament and that no discussion in this regard had taken place, noting further that it was not stated at the Cabinet media briefing either that such a Cabinet paper had been approved.
Attempts to contact Alahapperuma to inquire about the matter were unsuccessful and when contacted, Power Ministry Secretary Wasantha Perera said that the matter should be inquired from the Finance Ministry. Several attempts made to contact the Finance Ministry and Treasury Secretary S.R. Attygalle were to no avail.
New Fortress Energy Inc. announced yesterday (13) that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Lakdhanavi Limited to jointly develop a 350 MW gas-fired power plant in the Kerawalapitiya Power Complex located in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
“This partnership builds on our efforts to accelerate Sri Lanka’s transition to cleaner, cheaper energy,” said New Fortress Energy CEO and Chairman Wes Edens. “This development will further advance the introduction of natural gas and add additional modern power infrastructure.”