By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana

 Applications will be called in from potential investors for gas exploration in Mannar next month, Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera told Parliament.

 “We have set the legal provisions ready so that we can start looking for investors. The absence of legal provisions for dredging kept investors away in the past,” the minister said.
 “We will have to convert power plants such as Kelanitissa into an LNG plant and that will also be done soon.  It will be possible to use as a source of energy,” he added.