Kanchana thanks Harsha for the coal tender probe

Sri Lanka's Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera thanked SJB MP, Dr. Harsha De Silva, for calling for an investigation into the tender that was called for the procurement of coal for the Norochcholai Power Plant. The Minister said that the COPF in its report on the investigation into Coal Procurement has said that Auditor General preliminarily observes that a fair & sufficient time was not accommodated to suitable bidders & thereby has deviated from the Procurement guidelines.

The Minister added that the Auditor General's observations said certain limitations on their investigation & unavailability of information in a short time.

"Officials of the procurement committee has been notified of the observations & recommendations & will respond accordingly," tweeted the Minister.

Kanchana Wijesekera said that it would be appropriate for the Committee on Public Finance to consider responses of the officials in this regard & direct to be fully investigated by a suitable authority.

Sri Lanka's Auditor General has reported that the tender to procure coal for the Norochcholai Power Plant from 2022 to 2025 did not follow the approved procurement process.

Dr. Harsha de Silva an MP from the Samagi Jana Balawegaya told Parliament that the tender to provide coal from 2022 to 2025 was awarded to a company named 'Black Sands'. However, this company was not registered at the time.

"It was Suek AG that was registered. So, the question is how was the tender awarded to a company that was not registered? This is not something that we cannot investigate, so we requested the Auditor General to conduct an investigation," he revealed to the house.

According to the Auditor General, the procurement process did not follow the government-approved procurement guidelines.

"It says that the opportunity to award all suitable and interested parties with a just and equal process, was violated," said the MP.

At the same time, Lanka Coal (PVT) LTD announced that tenders were called for to procure coal on Monday (3), noting that the deadline to submit bids is the 25th of October.

Lanka Coal (PVT) LTD also said that an emergency purchase tender was also called for, with the deadline set for 20th October 2022.

At the same time, two vessels with coal shipments are to reach Sri Lankan shores on the 25th & 30th of October 2022, and each vessel will transport a shipment of 60,000 MT of Coal.

Sri Lanka has made 30% of the payment for these vessels, which is approximately USD 6.4 Million.

Lanka Coal (PVT) LTD said the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has agreed to settle the remaining 70% after the shipments reach Sri Lankan shores.

Lanka Coal (PVT) LTD said the shipments will suffice for around 20 days, and after the 25th of October, another eight coal shipments will reach Sri Lanka.