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Here is a closer look at #SriLanka#coal procurement for the #CEB's Lakvijaya Power Plant: tender delays, emergency procedures, supplier selection, and disputed coal quality.
This thread breaks down the timeline, decisions, and unanswered questions involving the Ceylon Electricity Board.
Operational Context
•The Lakvijaya Power Plant operates 3 × 300 MW units (total 900 MW installed capacity).
•Coal procurement typically supports annual seasonal shipping (approx. Sept–April).
•Annual requirement estimated at ~35–38 shipments
•Coal quality thresholds defined by calorific value and ash content (Main factors out of 7 or 8)
•Coal procurement handled through tenders under the #CEB.
Tender Planning Period (Expected vs Actual)
Expected timeline (standard practice)
•Tender preparation: April
•Tender closing: July
•Supply begins: September
Actual timeline stated
•Tender expected April 2025
•Reminders raised in Parliament in June, July, August
🔴No actions were taken despite so many reminders inside parliament and outside of it.
(Man made) Emergency Procurement Phase
August — Emergency tender called
•Classified as emergency procurement despite had been waiting for months delaying this process.
•Bid submission period reduced from typical ~42 days to ~21 days
🔴This caused elimination of reputed large scale suppliers who could supply high quality coal.
Tender Conditions and Eligibility Changes
During procurement:
🔴Supplier experience requirement reduced (1 million tons → 100,000 tons).
🔴 Significant eligibility change; requires comparison with official tender documents.
Minister Intervention
🔴Minister allegedly met a bidding company during evaluation period.
•Big NO, NO considering this is one of the biggest government procurement deal
Evaluation and approval stage
•Technical review expected within 1–2 weeks as this was supposed to be an emergency requirement.
🔴However, Cabinet approval reportedly granted after ~7 weeks.
🔴This contrasts with “emergency” framing and has serious concern whether government wanted to have a “desired” supplier by allowing them to get registered and have the bond ready.
Tender Award Phase
Mid-November
•Tender awarded to a company.
Reported concerns about selected supplier:
🔴Prior blacklisting in another import case in year 2016.
🔴Alleged financial misconduct history of the owners.
Earlier supply phases
Context
•Some shipments historically accepted with penalties when quality was marginally down
•Such cases were rare in the past.
Delivery schedule planned
•December: 3 ships
•January–March: 6 ships each month
•April: 4 ships
•Total planned: 25 ships
🔴 Lower than earlier stated annual requirement of 35–38 ships.
Early Warning Stage (First Shipments of Current Contract)
After first coal shipment used
•Power plant officials reported low generation performance to ministry.
•Performance concerns linked to coal quality
🔴 No actions were taken by Ministry but minister was in a hurry to defend the company in the Parliament
After second shipment
•A second report submitted stating quality did not meet standards
🔴Still No actions were taken by Ministry
Interpretation noted in report
🔴Tender could have been potentially cancelled based on these findings after first two shipments.
No such actions on warnings issued
Supply Phase (Continuation)
Actual delivery performance
•December deliveries incomplete only 01 arrived on time. Second one was delayed.
•Second shipment allegedly delayed beyond contractual interval.
🔴Contract could have been cancelled due to not meeting tender conditions at this time. Not done.
Quality Dispute
Testing and certification dispute
🔴Supplier relied on Indonesian lab testing instead of SGS port certification at the dispatching port ( which was easy to take than taking from elsewhere).
🔴Local testing reportedly found all 9 shipments below acceptable thresholds.
Operational performance observation
🔴Plant performance analysis suggested low calorific value coal < 5900 level. Determined through basic reverse engineering mechanism. This matches with the local lab test results perfectly.
🔴All 9 shipments are below standard as per the calculations so far.
💲 Loss from 1st shipment: Rs. 595.1 million
💲 Loss from 2nd shipment: Rs. 288.5 million
💲 Loss from 3rd shipment: Rs. 1,047.4 million
💲 Loss from 4th shipment: Rs. 865.0 million
💲 Loss from 5th shipment: Rs. 1,144.2 million
💲 Loss from 6th shipment: Rs. 1,197.7 million
💲 Loss from 7th shipment: Rs. 974.9 million
💲 Loss from 8th shipment: Rs. 1,559.3 million
#NPP #Corruption
What the government has largely done so far is continue the fiscal strengthening measures initiated by the previous administration, driven by several key policy reforms that were passed during that period.
However, the second and arguably more important component deep structural reforms required to drive real economic growth has either progressed at a very slow pace or not at all.
There is realistically no alternative to continuing with the IMF program in the short term to maintain stability.
But without meaningful structural reforms, Sri Lanka may struggle to achieve the sustained 6–7% growth needed to take the country to the next level.
THREE CUPS. ONE NATION. HISTORY CALLING. 🏆🏆🏆
For the first time ever, English clubs are on the brink of an UNPRECEDENTED TREBLE across Europe.
🔵 Champions League – The ultimate prize. 🔴 Europa League – The road to glory. 🟢 Conference League – The new dream.
Three different competitions. Three English teams. One legendary season could etch an era that will NEVER be forgotten. 😳🔥
THIS IS HISTORY IN THE MAKING.
Come on England. Let’s make football history! 🦁
#ThreeCupsOneNation #England #premierleauge
I feel bad for the executives who have to explain complex business realities to people who’ve never event dreamt of running a "Petti Kade" let alone a publicly listed company.
As I’ve said before, You cannot expect a company to survive, by simply giving "an office assistant" of a company the CEO role
Until the currency crisis hit Sri Lanka in 2019, it was growing on par with India.
Contrary to reports in the Western media, since the crisis and the IMF’s intervention, the economy has never recovered.
@sudaththa The story get even worse when you include other major currencies in addition to #USD which has been having its own issues ( most of other currencies has appreciated against that)
#SriLanka#NPP#vadeyatinyanava
There are concerns being raised about the quality of Spot Tender shipments too. It's widely known the selected supplier is a crook.
It also appears that, based on pre-bid briefings, the 2026–2027 requirement may be split between two parties. Setting the floor for parties to work together than cause huge losses to the country. How much more public funding will be allocated without clear accountability? #SriLanka
Did anything happen on this investigation. #NPP should just stop making these statements if they cannot prove anything. Enough is enough. Just get on with the work you have to do. This ministers is one of biggest talkers with nothing to show
@RajapaksaNamal#Srilanka
"Prove that I sat for the exam alone in a A/C room, and I will resign," MP Namal Rajapaksa challenges Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe, denying allegations that he received special treatment during the Law College examination.
Here is a closer look at #SriLanka#coal procurement for the #CEB's Lakvijaya Power Plant: tender delays, emergency procedures, supplier selection, and disputed coal quality.
This thread breaks down the timeline, decisions, and unanswered questions involving the Ceylon Electricity Board.
Operational Context
•The Lakvijaya Power Plant operates 3 × 300 MW units (total 900 MW installed capacity).
•Coal procurement typically supports annual seasonal shipping (approx. Sept–April).
•Annual requirement estimated at ~35–38 shipments
•Coal quality thresholds defined by calorific value and ash content (Main factors out of 7 or 8)
•Coal procurement handled through tenders under the #CEB.
Tender Planning Period (Expected vs Actual)
Expected timeline (standard practice)
•Tender preparation: April
•Tender closing: July
•Supply begins: September
Actual timeline stated
•Tender expected April 2025
•Reminders raised in Parliament in June, July, August
🔴No actions were taken despite so many reminders inside parliament and outside of it.
(Man made) Emergency Procurement Phase
August — Emergency tender called
•Classified as emergency procurement despite had been waiting for months delaying this process.
•Bid submission period reduced from typical ~42 days to ~21 days
🔴This caused elimination of reputed large scale suppliers who could supply high quality coal.
Tender Conditions and Eligibility Changes
During procurement:
🔴Supplier experience requirement reduced (1 million tons → 100,000 tons).
🔴 Significant eligibility change; requires comparison with official tender documents.
Minister Intervention
🔴Minister allegedly met a bidding company during evaluation period.
•Big NO, NO considering this is one of the biggest government procurement deal
Evaluation and approval stage
•Technical review expected within 1–2 weeks as this was supposed to be an emergency requirement.
🔴However, Cabinet approval reportedly granted after ~7 weeks.
🔴This contrasts with “emergency” framing and has serious concern whether government wanted to have a “desired” supplier by allowing them to get registered and have the bond ready.
Tender Award Phase
Mid-November
•Tender awarded to a company.
Reported concerns about selected supplier:
🔴Prior blacklisting in another import case in year 2016.
🔴Alleged financial misconduct history of the owners.
Earlier supply phases
Context
•Some shipments historically accepted with penalties when quality was marginally down
•Such cases were rare in the past.
Delivery schedule planned
•December: 3 ships
•January–March: 6 ships each month
•April: 4 ships
•Total planned: 25 ships
🔴 Lower than earlier stated annual requirement of 35–38 ships.
Early Warning Stage (First Shipments of Current Contract)
After first coal shipment used
•Power plant officials reported low generation performance to ministry.
•Performance concerns linked to coal quality
🔴 No actions were taken by Ministry but minister was in a hurry to defend the company in the Parliament
After second shipment
•A second report submitted stating quality did not meet standards
🔴Still No actions were taken by Ministry
Interpretation noted in report
🔴Tender could have been potentially cancelled based on these findings after first two shipments.
No such actions on warnings issued
Supply Phase (Continuation)
Actual delivery performance
•December deliveries incomplete only 01 arrived on time. Second one was delayed.
•Second shipment allegedly delayed beyond contractual interval.
🔴Contract could have been cancelled due to not meeting tender conditions at this time. Not done.
Quality Dispute
Testing and certification dispute
🔴Supplier relied on Indonesian lab testing instead of SGS port certification at the dispatching port ( which was easy to take than taking from elsewhere).
🔴Local testing reportedly found all 9 shipments below acceptable thresholds.
Operational performance observation
🔴Plant performance analysis suggested low calorific value coal < 5900 level. Determined through basic reverse engineering mechanism. This matches with the local lab test results perfectly.
🔴All 9 shipments are below standard as per the calculations so far.
💲 Loss from 1st shipment: Rs. 595.1 million
💲 Loss from 2nd shipment: Rs. 288.5 million
💲 Loss from 3rd shipment: Rs. 1,047.4 million
💲 Loss from 4th shipment: Rs. 865.0 million
💲 Loss from 5th shipment: Rs. 1,144.2 million
💲 Loss from 6th shipment: Rs. 1,197.7 million
💲 Loss from 7th shipment: Rs. 974.9 million
💲 Loss from 8th shipment: Rs. 1,559.3 million
#NPP #Corruption
@Chathurangaab Great work @Chathurangaab One of very few people in this government that has the capacity and vision to do something useful and has the ability to communicate it effectively. Keep good work continuing...
@Tripple____M Very doubtful. Form & confidence wise two sides are in opposite poles. I do not know how we could go to Etihad and win there :(
Also having one extra CL match in between does not help the cause.
But if we could win it I guess it will seal the deal.
01st -CEB price hike - born by people☑️
2nd - Treasury - How does treasury gets money, from Anura's home, No. From tax collected from people - 2nd part too comes back to people ☑️
3rd Part - To be taken from the company. They have gone to courts. Very unlikely they will cover full cost which means that too will come to people
Please find the attached tweet below. All the red dots are problematic phases/incidents of this deal. And this list is ever growing.
If it was only 1 or 2 we could have attribute it to lack of experience of the government ( still officials should be experienced enough)
But this list is huge and doing/allowing all these stuff knowingly proves there is definitely some issue here.
https://t.co/UOyDzrdQ3P