{"id":87170,"date":"2026-03-02T00:45:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T04:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=87170"},"modified":"2026-03-02T01:45:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T05:45:38","slug":"87170","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=87170","title":{"rendered":"Operational data from Lakvijaya in Norochcholai shows that South African coal imported under the 2025-26 tender does not allow the plant to generate the required amount of energy. Plant Output Drop from 810 MW to 750 MW"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Namini Wijedasa<\/strong><\/p>\n

Operational data from Lakvijaya in Norochcholai continued to show this week that South African coal imported under the ongoing 2025-26 tender does not allow the plant to generate the required amount of energy.<\/p>\n

However, both load port and discharge port reports from two separate accredited foreign laboratories also still indicate that every coal consignment\u2014except for the first one, for which a hefty penalty was charged\u2014under the Lanka Coal Company (Pvt) Ltd (LCC) contract with India\u2019s Trident Chemphar meets the minimum specifications of the tender.<\/p>\n

Report in a month<\/strong><\/p>\n

Amidst considerable pressure to find answers, the Energy Ministry appointed a seven-member committee comprising a ministry official and academics from the Moratuwa and Sri Jayewardenepura Universities to provide recommendations within a month.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a drop in performance [at Lakvijaya],\u201d Energy Ministry Secretary K.T.M. Hemapala told the Sunday Times. \u201cWe have to acknowledge it. The energy the plant usually supplies the grid is 810 MW out of the 900 MW generated. Now it is something like 750 to 760 MW. There is a difference of 50 to 60 MW, sometimes 75 MW, when we use this coal.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Lakvijaya power plant: No end to controversies\u2014this time over low grade coal
\nProf. Hemapala agreed with the plant data that Russian coal, of which there is a remaining stock, produces the requisite amount of energy when burnt. The committee must therefore determine where the problem lies. For instance, is the gross calorific value (GCV) of the South African coal below the minimum 5,900 value that was mandated by the tender? While Lakvijaya data conveys as much, its lab is not accredited.<\/p>\n

The team will also discuss the possibility of fraud\u2014including whether the two laboratories colluded to produce falsified test reports\u2014warranting a criminal inquiry, even litigation. However, such an investigation will face limitations as it will be done beyond the scope of the LCC-Trident Chemphar contract (auditing of the labs by Sri Lankan parties will likely be impossible).<\/p>\n

The committee must calculate, too, the actual cost to the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) of having to cover the obvious energy shortfall through alternative sources, including diesel, Prof. Hemapala said; and whether a technical trait in Lakvijaya simply prevented it from producing 900 MW from coal of 5,900 GCV.
\nOfficials confessed that they were perplexed by the contradiction between independent test results and Lakvijaya performance data. If the fault didn\u2019t lie in the plant, they said, the lab reports have to be called into question.<\/p>\n

Another independent laboratory appointed<\/strong><\/p>\n

LCC has now enlisted another independent, accredited foreign laboratory called Bureau Veritas (BV) to test the coal at the load port, the Richards Bay Coal Terminal in South Africa.<\/p>\n

According to a document seen by the Sunday Times, BV has been hired for two shipments\u2014that is, the 13th and 14th vessels (a total of 25 are due by the end of April)\u2014to supervise loading and sample preparation, to analyse the buyer\u2019s sample, to certify the cargo covering specific parameters, and to issue two sets of documents.<\/p>\n

As the buyer\u2019s independent surveyor at the load port, BV has been instructed to ensure \u201cfull transparency, accuracy, and impartiality in all sampling and testing activities\u201d. Two Sri Lankan nominees, including an official from Lakvijaya, are due to fly to South Africa in this regard.<\/p>\n

These tests will not cover samples from previous shipments. But the government hopes the heightened vigilance will force coal of the mandated standard to be shipped to Sri Lanka \u201cat least from the 13th shipment onwards\u201d. The results have not come in yet.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Attorney General has advised officials to follow the agreement with Trident Chemphar, sources said. As pointed out by the Sunday Times last week, it allows the buyer, LCC, to check the samples visually at the load port and to also have them tested at a third lab.<\/p>\n

At present, LCC cannot terminate the contract, as the discharge port reports\u2014produced by a company called Cotecna that Lavkijaya selected through a competitive bidding process\u2014do not prove the coal to be below specification.
\nBut termination throws up more challenges. While LCC floated an emergency tender this week for 300,000 MT of coal (five shipments), it will take several weeks for the first shipment to arrive. And there will be no coal to cover a gap of about 500,000 MT if the contract is broken at present. The impending monsoons further complicate matters.<\/p>\n

There are new questions now whether Trident Chemphar will be able to supply its total 25 shipments at the current rate of arrival. And even if there is no shortage of coal, there most certainly is an energy shortfall\u2014and this will continue to be the case if the same quality coal continues to be imported. There is a high cost to that.<\/p>\n

Tougher conditions in future<\/strong><\/p>\n

Insofar as the ongoing problem is concerned, the government is in a bind. Should BV return negative results, a whole host of new obstacles will arise. It can only be hoped that \u201cgood coal\u201d will herewith be conveyed to Sri Lanka.
\nOn a positive note, officials say that this fiasco is likely to give rise to \u201ca much more streamlined process\u201d in the future. For instance, it is likely that the required GCV level will be raised in future tenders. The prequalification criteria for suppliers, including financial requirements and previously supplied quantities of coal, will be tightened.<\/p>\n

There is also a proposal for the local agents to provide a police report, their business registration and related information. Available records show that Trident Chemphar is represented in Sri Lanka by Sanath Jayasundara. He has provided the local agent as \u201cPanaurora\u201d with the contact number +94 112 864 477. The email address\u2014to which all communication with Trident Chemphar was copied\u2014is stated as information@panaurora.net. While the telephone number matches the one published on the Panaurora website, the email address does not (the website states it to be info@panaurora.net).<\/p>\n

The Sunday Times checked the Panaurora registration documents with the Registrar of Companies. Its date of registration is given as May 16, 2025. Its directors Hakmana Nandaloka Thero\u2014a Buddhist monk who, according to his Facebook profile, has multiple other business interests\u2014and two entities called Sayaara Holdings and Invest LK (Pvt) Ltd. The directors of Sayaara (formed on June 14, 2024) are Herath Bandaralage Anuradha Oshade Herath and Wijayasekarage Shanika Kumari.<\/p>\n

Hakmana Nandaloka Thero is also a director of Invest LK, alongside Jayasundara Mudiyanselage Sanath Bandara Jayasundara and Rakitha Nirmala Rajapakshe. Invest LK was set up on January 9, 2025.<\/p>\n

When questioned about his role in Invest LK, Mr Rajapakshe said he was a director and that Invest LK holds shares in Panaurora. He also said they have \u201cno connection or any agency arrangement with trident [sic] Chemphar\u201d and claimed any information to the contrary is false.<\/p>\n

While admitting that Sanath Jayasundara was also a director at Panaurora, he reiterated that Panaurora had no connection \u201cwhatsoever\u201d with Trident Chemphar and that Mr Jayasundara\u2019s involvement with Trident was \u201capart from Panaurora\u2019s business\u201d, which is fertiliser. He could not say why Mr Jayasundara had provided Panaurora\u2019s name as the local agent for Trident Chemphar, advising us to obtain that information from LCC.<\/p>\n

Courtesy:Sunday Times<\/em><\/p>\n

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By Namini Wijedasa Operational data from Lakvijaya in Norochcholai continued to show this week that South African coal imported under the ongoing 2025-26 tender does not allow the plant to generate the required amount of energy. However, both load port and discharge port reports from two separate accredited foreign laboratories also still indicate that every …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘Operational data from Lakvijaya in Norochcholai shows that South African coal imported under the 2025-26 tender does not allow the plant to generate the required amount of energy. Plant Output Drop from 810 MW to 750 MW’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87170"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=87170"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87170\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87173,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87170\/revisions\/87173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=87170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=87170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=87170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}