New Govt. to review all connectivity-related projects with India

• Final decisions to be taken after the next Parliament convenes
• All connectivity projects are under review to assess their current status
• The President, during his election campaign, also pledged to review the Adani power projects
• Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar will arrive in Sri Lanka on Friday to engage with the 
  new government

By Kelum Bandara

The new government led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has decided to review all the connectivity projects with India along with the Adani power projects in the north before taking a final decision on them after the next Parliament convenes following the conclusion of the General Election on November 14, a source familiar with the process said.

During the visit of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe to India last year, the two countries agreed on a vision document on connectivity projects covering power and energy, trade, economic and financial affairs and people-to-people linkages.

According to it, the two sides agreed on the conclusion of the MoU on cooperation in developing renewable energy and to establish a high-capacity power grid interconnection between India and Sri Lanka to enable bidirectional electricity trade. The construction of a multi-product petroleum pipeline from the southern part of India to Sri Lanka is also another connectivity project. 

Also, a land connectivity project has also been discussed. India has been keen that work on all these projects and other related investments are not derailed in the event of a regime change in Sri Lanka.  

However, a government source said that all the connectivity projects are under review to assess their current status.

“Only after the General Election, we will decide how to proceed with them – whether to go ahead, amend the MoUs if already signed or sign fresh MoUs with our inputs if not signed already. The government is not keen to take any decision before the General Election is over,” the source said.    

The President, during his election campaign, also pledged to review the Adani power projects. According to the source, the President has instructed the relevant authorities to keep the projects assessed.

Meanwhile, Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar will arrive in Sri Lanka on Friday to engage with the new government. The two sides are expected to discuss the implementation of these projects during meetings. The President reportedly took a report on them yesterday ahead of Dr. Jaishankar’s visit.