Sri Lanka’s ruling National People’s Power (NPP) has said any decision on the proposed construction of a wind farm in Mannar by India’s Adani group, will now only be taken in January 2025, despite previous pledges to cancel the deal.
Chathuranga Abeysinghe, an NPP member, said that the government had yet to reach a decision on the project which has been challenged in Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court. Prior to his victory in the September 21 presidential election, Anura Kumara Dissanayake had vowed to revoke the project, which the NPP alliance saw as a potential threat to Sri Lanka's energy sector “sovereignty”.
“We have categorically said even before the election, we are not happy with that. We indicated that to Adani group as well as the Indian government that we are not happy with this (tariff) rate,” said Abeysinghe.
“So there is a delegation that is going out in January. That was an invitation from the Indian government and this is also a key topic item that we will negotiate.”
“Also there are certain discussions that are stalled. So this [Adani deal] is a particular agreement we need to re-look at.”
Previously, Sri Lanka’s interim Cabinet said it would discuss the project and make a decision on whether to continue after the parliamentary elections scheduled for November 14, 2024.
This shift in stance comes as Dissanayake's administration appears increasingly hesitant to implement certain campaign promises. For decades, Dissanayake’s Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) had staunchly opposed Indian intervention on the island, but has sought to build closer ties once he took office.
Dissanayake met with India’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka last week where he reportedly “expressed interest in learning from India’s expertise in power and energy sector development”.
