Chinese engineers flown in amid questions of sabotage

A team of engineers have had to be flown in from China in order to try and repair the Lakvijaya Coal Power Plant in Norochcholai, after a series of failures have led to power cuts across the country.

The plant, built using a USD $455 million loan from China's EXIM bank, was constructed by Chinese workers from the China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation.

Since having opened, a series of failures at the plant – deemed “quality issues” by the Chairman of the Ceylon Electricity Board – have led to island wide power cuts.

The repair work is expected to take at least four days.

Their arrival comes as Mass Media and Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that the government were suspicious of sabotage at the plant, commenting
“Some people also say the technological equipment is incomplete. Yet we are not really sure about this and are investigating the reasons for the breakdowns”.

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