Sampur power plant receives environment approval; construction soon: Power Min.

Feb 19, 2016 (LBO) – The construction work of the Sampur coal power plant will start soon as the project received the environment approval early this month, Power and Renewable Energy Minister said.





Accordingly the first and second phase of this project is to be commenced within the next few months, Power Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said.

Minister made an inspection tour yesterday at the proposed construction site and reviewed the current progress of the project. The proposed coal power project will be built in a 500 acres land in Sampur area with an estimated cost of 600 million US dollars.





Minister Siyambalapitiya further stated that necessary regulatory and legal approvals have already been obtained for the construction of the power plant. “We obtained the consent from the environmental organizations and even from villagers.





” The MoU for the first 500 MW phase was signed on 29 December 2006, between Sri Lanka, Ceylon Electricity Board and the National Thermal Power Corporation in India. The Power Purchase Agreement, Implementation Agreement, BOI Agreement, Land Lease Agreement and Coal Supply Agreement were signed on 7 October 2013 by relevant parties.









The power station is expected to come online in late 2017 and there were also reports of India exerting pressure on Sri Lanka to expedite its work despite initial opposition from Sampur villagers.