By Namini Wijedasa

Lanka Coal Company (Pvt) Ltd (LCC) has extended its bid closing date for the emergency procurement of 300,000MT of coal, as an emergency hasn’t yet arisen, authoritative sources told the Sunday Times.

The tender was floated on February 25, 2026, with a closing date of March 6. This has now been extended till March 11. There is also reportedly low interest in the tender. Bidders were told, “In the event that no emergency situation arises due to the failure of the existing coal supply, the sealed and unopened bids shall be returned to the respective bidders without being opened.”

There was speculation in the industry that “genuine bidders will not take part”. “Why would a supplier keep a bid guarantee for something that is said to be uncertain?” a market participant said.

Under the Cabinet approval granted to float an emergency procurement, it was decided to open the bid only if there was “an emergency”, official sources said. “For an emergency to come up, we have to at least start the process of cancelling the ongoing tender,” they pointed out. “Till then, we cannot say there is an emergency.”

LCC has not made a move to cancel the tender—despite reports from Lakvijaya indicating that the coal did not meet specifications and that the power plant did not generate the required energy from it—because independent, accredited laboratory reports show the coal has met the required standards. It has now hired another independent, accredited laboratory named Bureau Veritas to test samples from the 13th and 14th shipments. The results are yet to be conveyed.

The Energy Ministry has instructed LCC to inform it before Wednesday whether or not an emergency situation will arise, the sources said.

Meanwhile, the frequency of incoming ships from Trident Chemphar, the supplier of the 2025–2026 tender, has slowed. The next ship, which should have been loading now, has requested more time (it was due yesterday but postponed to tomorrow). If these delays widen, it is likely that LCC will define it as “an emergency” as Lakvijaya will not be able to receive the ordered 25 shipments before the onset of the monsoons.

Separately, the government has decided to check the “umpire samples” of coal—samples that were retained at Norochcholai by Lakvijaya power plant from the Trident Chemphar shipments—outside of the contract with the supplier. That contract does not facilitate Lanka Coal to hire a second laboratory, outside of Cotechna, which had been agreed upon by both parties at the time of the tender.

Quotations have been called from three laboratories, official sources said.

Courtesy:Sunday Times