Adani’s Sri Lanka project under scrutiny

• Sri Lanka revoked a 2024 power purchasing agreement with Adani Green Energy Limited, despite the project not being cancelled.

• The government has appointed a committee to review the agreement, and the Adani Group denied cancellation.

• The Dissanayake government has stated that it will renegotiate a lower rate of power purchase with the firm, seeking a tariff below six cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh).

• The government has previously stated that it would reconsider the approval granted by the previous government to the Adani Group for the wind power project.

• The project is expected to add at least 350 MW to the island’s national grid by 2025.

• The project was approved in March 2022 by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) but was kept under wraps.

• The Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration was attacked for choosing the Adani Group without calling for competitive bids and bypassing due process.

• The project has been a subject of controversy, with opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya accusing the government of “pampering” Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “notorious friends”.

• In February 2023, Sri Lanka’s Board of Investment approved a project to set up two wind power plants in northern Sri Lanka, with a $442 million investment from Adani Green Energy Limited.

• Locals are opposing the project due to concerns over the project’s impact on a bird corridor and the livelihoods of local fisherfolk.