• Consent of both parties needed to disclose the agreement   

By Ajith Siriwardana   

Claiming that the agreement pertaining to the Kerawalapitiya Power Plant was signed with the US based New Fortress Energy (NFE) following the approval of the Attorney General, Ceylon Electricity Board Chairman M. M. C. Ferdinando said yesterday that the content of the agreement could not be disclosed due to a condition in the agreement.    

He said approval of all parties concerned was received for the agreement and that it was approved by the AG after thorough study.   The Chairman said there was a condition in the agreement that the content of the agreement should be disclosed with the consent of both parties and added that was why the agreement had not been published. “The agreement has not even been presented to the CEB yet. As far as I know, the Treasury has sought advice from the Attorney General whether there would be any issue for the State if the content of the agreement was disclosed,” he said.   

He said it was a commercial agreement and that there would be negative effects if certain people got hold of such agreements. The Chairman said there was nothing to hide and said even the framework agreement was signed with the Cabinet approval and the Subject Minister assured to present the agreement in Parliament.