A deep rift has emerged between Power, Energy, and Business Development Minister Ravi Karunanayake and Non-Cabinet Minister of Economic Reforms and Public Distribution Dr. Harsha de Silva over the awarding of the tender to set up two 300 MW LNG plants in Kerawalapitiya. Referring to a media report which had quoted Minister Karunanayake as having said that the decision to award a 300 MW power plant to the first and second bidder in a single tender for an independent power producer was bipartisan, Minister de Silva tweeted on Tuesday (09), saying that he was completely against handing out two contracts on one tender; bipartisan or otherwise. He also requested President Maithripala Sirisena to appoint a commission to investigate the entire power sector. When The Sunday Morning contacted Minister de Silva he said: “No power plant can be contracted without proper tender procedures and also Power and Energy Ministry Secretary Dr. B.M.S Batagoda and the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) will have to answer multiple questions on why the LNG power plants were delayed.” Asked why he didn’t raise the issue officially with the President or Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Minister de Silva said he raised the issue in the two committees that he was appointed to. However, when The Sunday Morning contacted Minister Karunanayake, he said he was not happy with the way Minister de Silva had publicly announced his opinion on the issue. Cabinet approval was granted on 12 February to award the tender to set up two 300 MW LNG plants in Kerawalapitiya. The Procurement Appeals Board (PAB) approved building the Kerawalapitiya 300 MW LNG plant, awarding the contract to GCL China Windforce and RenewGen. The second contract will be awarded to Lakdhanavi Ltd. to set up a new 300 MW LNG plant. However, approval from the Attorney General (AG) and the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) is still pending for the proposed 300 MW LNG power plant in Kerawalapitiya, which was awarded to a Chinese company. Even after the tender was awarded to the Chinese company, Lakdhanavi – the lowest bidder of the tender – raised concerns over the awarding of the tender to the Chinese company, which is the second lowest bidder. Meanwhile, the petition filed against the non-granting of a contract to Lakdanavi Ltd. for the construction of the second phase of the 300 MW Kerawalapitiya power plants was taken up before the Supreme Courts on 5 April. It was reported that the Deputy Solicitor General Milinda Gunathilaka, who appeared on behalf of the AG, informed court that Cabinet had approved the awarding of the tender to China-based GSL Company on 2 April. After having considered the arguments put forward by both parties, the Supreme Court ordered that the case be taken up for further hearing on 20 May.