• The power plant has been facing frequent breakdowns
• One of the three 300 MW plants is not functioning and being repaired
• Plant expected to be fully operational by January 22 or 24

By Easwaran Rutnam 

Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila has refused to admit that the Norochcholai coal power plant was a failed project.  The Norochcholai coal power plant has been facing frequent breakdowns since it was commissioned by the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2011. 

Asked by Daily Mirror at the weekly post-Cabinet media conference yesterday if the Norochcholai coal power plant was a failure, Minister Gammanpila responded negatively. He insisted that no one could have expected Sri Lanka not to have power cuts because of the construction of the Norochcholai coal power plant. “As Buddhists, we believe everything is impermanent and that is the case with the Norochcholai power plant as well,” he said. 

The Minister said that there will be breakdowns and maintenance issues and in such situations, the power plant will not be fully operational. He said that at the moment one of the three 300 MW plants at Norochcholai is not functioning and is being repaired. 

Gammanpila said that the plant is expected to be fully operational by January 22 or 24. The Minister was confident that once the Norochcholai coal power plant was fully operational, the current power crisis in Sri Lanka will also be resolved. 

• Minister says that there will be breakdowns and maintenance issues and in such situations, the power plant will not be fully operational