NTPC''s Sri Lanka Power Plant To Receive New Site

New Delhi: National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd''s maiden foray outside the country a proposed 500-MW thermal station in Sri Lanka has faced a staggering block, with the original site proposed in the Trincomalee region of the island nation being dropped in view of security concerns. An alternative site is now being proposed by the Sri Lankan administration, in view of the worries raised by NTPC with regard to the original site.

The original site location recommended by the Sri Lankan Government for the NTPC-Ceylon Electricity Board joint venture station at Sampoor in northern Sri Lanka has been ruled out as being politically sensitive. NTPC had forayed into a Memorandum of Agreement with the Sri Lankan Government and Ceylon Electricity Board on December 29 last year to set up a 2x250 MW coal-based project in the Trincomalee region. The project is to be executed via a 50:50 joint venture between NTPC and the Ceylon Electricity Board. The proposed project is to be run entirely on imported coal and NTPC is eyeing at the option of coal imports from Indonesia and Australia.