New Delhi, October 15, 2024: The Sri Lankan government led by the new president Anura Kumara Dissanayake informed the country’s Supreme Court on Monday that it would reconsider approval granted by the previous administration to the Adani Group’s wind power project, news agency PTI reported.
Sri Lanka’s attorney general told a five-judge Supreme Court bench that the decision to review the project approval had been taken at a Cabinet meeting held on October 7. The final decision of the new government will be conveyed once the new cabinet is sworn in after parliamentary elections on November 14, he informed the court.
Adani Group’s project
In 2022, the group planned to invest $ 440 million for the development of 484 megawatts (MW) of wind power in the northeastern regions of Mannar and Pooneryn.
Petitioners, who moved the Lankan top court, alleged a lack of transparency in the bidding process in granting project approval to Adani Green Energy, owned by the Adani Group. They also argue that the agreed tariff of USD 0.0826 per kWh would be a loss to Sri Lanka and should be lowered to USD 0.005 per kWh.
In the run-up to the September 21 presidential election, Dissanayake of the National People’s Power (NPP) alliance said he would cancel the project if voted to power.
Other Adani projects in SL
In 2021, the Adani Group secured a contract to develop and operate the West Container Terminal (WCT) at the Colombo Port, one of the busiest trans-shipment ports in the region. The project is a joint venture with Sri Lanka’s John Keells Holdings, and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), with the Adani Group holding a 51% stake in the terminal according to the reports published in hindustantimes.com.
The project is expected to involve an investment of around $700 million and will enhance the port’s capacity significantly. This move was seen as balancing China’s influence, as Beijing had developed the nearby Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT) and the Hambantota Port.
