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Anura Kumara Dissanayake claims Cabinet approved sale of Yugadanavi stake 

13 Sep 2021

  • Claims sale to American company approved secretively 
  • Alleges no Cabinet paper provided to Ministers at virtual meeting 
By Pamodi Waravita  Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) leader and National People’s Power (NPP) Parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday (12) claimed that the Cabinet of Ministers last week approved an agreement between the Ministry of Finance and US-based energy company New Fortress Energy Inc. to hand over the Treasury’s 40% stake in the Yugadanavi Power Station in Kerawalapitiya to the latter.  “Last Monday (6), the Cabinet, which meets on Zoom these days, approved the cabinet paper presented by the Minister of Finance Basil Rajapaksa to sell 40% of the Kerawalapitiya power plant, its gas supply pipe system, and the gas storage terminal to an American company. None of the Cabinet Ministers got the cabinet paper prior to the meeting. Even at that moment, it was not given as a document, but read out by Rajapaksa,” claimed Dissanayake.  Some ministers did not get an opportunity to present a single idea about this, and only the agenda showed that the said paper was approved, he further alleged. According to Dissanayake, Treasury Secretary S.R. Attygalle is given the sole purview over the conditions of the deal, the prices, and the details of the agreement. “These leaders practice fake patriotism. They are using the pandemic to sell off our country’s most valuable resources,” he further alleged. On 13 July, New Fortress Energy Inc. announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Lakdhanavi Ltd. to jointly develop a 350 MW gas-fired power plant in the Kerawalapitiya Power Complex located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. At the time, its CEO and Chairman Wes Edens said that the partnership is part of their efforts to accelerate Sri Lanka’s transition to cleaner and cheaper energy.  Prior to this statement, New Fortress said that it has signed a Framework Agreement with the Government of Sri Lanka to construct a new offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving, storage, and regasification terminal to supply gas to Sri Lanka’s power plants, primarily located in the Kerawalapitiya Power Complex. Thus, New Fortress added that it has agreed to supply natural gas to the existing 300 MW Yugadanavi Power Plant and is negotiating the purchase of the Government’s 40% stake in the Yugadanavi power plant.  The Sunday Morning quoted Deputy Secretary to the Treasury R.M.P. Rathnayake, who had said that the proposed agreement between Sri Lanka and New Fortress Energy is still with the Attorney General’s Department and had added that there were no preparations yet by the Ministry to sign the agreements. The Morning’s attempts to contact the Minister of Power Gamini Lokuge for comment proved futile. 


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