PCoI to investigate corruption of the current administration SL could save significant amounts of money spent on emergency power

If 300 MW LNG Power Plant is operational in Kerawalapitiya

By Yoshitha Perera 

A senior CEB official giving evidence before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to investigate corruption of the current administration indicated that those who were involved in the procurement process on constructing the 300 MW LNG power plant at Kerawalapitiya performed in more responsible manner, the power plant would have been constructed by now and a significant amount of funds spent on emergency power could have been saved.   

Project Manager of the LNG power plant at Kerawalapitiya Lalith Ranawaka said that the bids for the tender were called on November 18, 2016.   

The Cabinet Appointed Procurement Committee (CAPC) decided only to open the financial bid of one Company, Samsung C & T. The bidders followed the dual envelope system, where the technical and financial bids were placed separately. Financial bids will be opened only of those who had fulfilled technical qualifications.   

When questioned why the CAPC made this decision contrary to the decision of the TEC, Ranawaka said that Samsung C & T was the only company that included a compressor that is needed to control the pressure of LNG pumped into the plant. “The plant and LNG supply are two separate operations. The responsibility of supplying LNG to the plant was the responsibility of the CEB. The plant is expected to operate at 32 bars, a widely used metric unit of measurement for pressure, and if the pressure of the LNG supply is higher or lower, a compressor is needed to increase or decrease pressure to match 32 bars,” he said.   

He said that this compressor was not an expensive or highly sophisticated machine and that almost all bidders had asked the CEB, who was in charge of supplying LNG, about the pressure and heat in which they would supply LNG.   

“We told them that we didn’t know because that depends on where and how we bring LNG. So the others didn’t put a compressor. But they could have done this if we had provided the pressure and heat in which we would supply LNG.”   

Chairman said that if the 300 MW LNG power plant at Kerawalapitiya had been constructed on time, by mid-2019, Sri Lanka could have saved significant amounts of money spent on high cost emergency power. “Some parties are delaying the implementation of the long term generation plan deliberately so that they can purchase high cost emergency power. This is what we are observing in this case,” he said.   

Chairman said that if the 300 MW LNG power plant at Kerawalapitiya had been constructed on time, by mid-2019, Sri Lanka could have saved significant amounts of money spent on high cost emergency power