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ECONOMYNEXT – Indian High Commissioner for Sri Lanka Santosh Jha said the Adani’s 500 MW wind power deal in the island nation’s Northern province should progress after a better negotiation process.
Sri Lankan officials have said the Adani wind power project has been facing some delays as a Cabinet Appointed Negotiation Committee (CANC) has been raising concerns over the project components.
The $442 million project was given to the Indian firm as an unsolicited deal after it was changed to a government-to-government deal with Adani Green Energy was issued provisional approval for two wind projects of 286 MW in Sri Lanka’s northwestern Mannar and 234 MW in the Northern Pooneryn.
“It is a commercial venture by Adani. They would be the right people to answer the question,” Santosh Jha told reporters in Colombo at a meeting with senior journalists on Thursday (01).
“It should progress,” he said when asked about the delays in the project.
Sri Lanka’s cabinet has given greenlight to recruit a raft of technocrats to a committee that will assess the project.
However, sources who are privy of the ongoing negotiation have said the project approval is facing some delay in the negotiation process of the CANC.
“NATURAL PROCESS”
Sri Lanka’s government officials have told EconomyNext that the delay has angered India.
However, Jha said lengthy negotiations are not unusual in such a project.
“Always the buyers look for their best interest while sellers look into their interest. So, it’s a natural process,” Jha said referring to the ongoing negotiations between the parties involved from the countries.
The CANC has first raised concerns over pricing with the state-owned Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) had said the unit cost for wind power under the project was expensive under the project.
Later, CANC had raised concerns over a 15% risk assessment on the project, sources have said.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe has asked to prioritize the project, given its strategic importance in securing adequate supply of energy with no foreign currency.
Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera, however, had denied the delay claims.
The Adani wind power deal is one of the key projects given to India, which helped the island nation when it faced foreign exchange crisis after declaring bankruptcy. (Colombo/Feb 02/2024)
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