‘Rajapaksa stated that Modi insisted on Adani for the power project,’ according to Sri Lanka’s electricity minister
The chairman of Sri Lanka’s energy regulator testified before a parliamentary panel that he was told by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had insisted on giving the Adani group a 500-megawatt wind power project immediately.
In response to the allegation, Rajapaksa denied requesting that the project be handed to a certain business. And by Sunday night, two days after making his spectacular assertion, the chairman of the electricity authority had changed his mind, alleging that he had “lied” due to “passion.”
M.M.C. Ferdinando, chairman of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), informed the legislative Committee on Public Enterprises that the Sri Lankan president had told him that the Indian prime minister was insistent on the project, the 500 MW wind power plantbeinge given to the Adani Group.
Re a statement made by the #lka CEB Chairman at a COPE committee hearing regarding the award of a Wind Power Project in Mannar, I categorically deny authorisation to award this project to any specific person or entity. I trust responsible communication in this regard will follow.
— Gotabaya Rajapaksa (@GotabayaR) June 11, 2022
The CEB engineers union stated earlier this week that the Adani group had first proposed selling power to CEB at 6.50 US cents per unit. On June 6, CEB Engineers Union President Anil Ranjith informed reporters, “Now attempts are being made to provide the project for 7.55 cents a unit.” Former CEBEU president Saumya Kumarawadu told Sri Lankan media organization EconomyNext that a wind farm could be developed to sell power for 4 cents per unit or less under competitive tendering.
“It’s roughly twice the price at 7.55 cents,” he explained. “That’s around $4 billion over 25 years.” In October 2021, Gautam Adani paid a visit to Sri Lanka and tweeted about his meeting with President Rajapaksa, saying he was looking into “other infrastructure partnerships” besides the port project”.
Privileged to meet President @GotabayaR and PM @PresRajapaksa. In addition to developing Colombo Port's Western Container Terminal, the Adani Group will explore other infrastructure partnerships. India's strong bonds with Sri Lanka are anchored to centuries’ old historic ties. pic.twitter.com/noq8A1aLAv
— Gautam Adani (@gautam_adani) October 26, 2021
While Ferdinando told COPE that President Rajapaksa informed him of Modi’s demand for the project to be handed over to Adani in November 2021, the MOU to build the two renewable energy projects in Mannar and Pooneryn was first revealed in March of this year.
Even back then, the opposition had expressed concern over the project being given over to Adani. “It is with grave sadness that we see the Adani Group’s decision to enter Sri Lanka through the back door. We don’t like it when people try to avoid competition. It wreaks havoc on our shattered economy, exacerbates balance-of-payments problems, and adds to the anguish of our folks.
When Sri Lanka frequently referred to the Adani group as a “nominee” of the Indian government for the West Container Terminal project at Colombo port, the Indian conglomerate raised suspicions. The Indian government denied that any company had been selected for the project. In September 2021, the Adani group signed a Build, Operate, and Transfer (BOT) agreement for WCT.
The island nation in the Indian Ocean is experiencing its worst economic crisis since independence. Sri Lanka has already defaulted on sovereign loans due to a lack of foreign currency reserves.
