Adani Group considering investing in Sri Lanka’s energy & wind sector

The remarks arrived a day after Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani called on Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

On Tuesday, The Adani group, which recently approved an agreement with Sri Lanka to develop and manage the strategic Colombo Port’s Western Container Terminal, is also considering the chance of funding in the island nation’s energy and wind sector, a senior official from the state-owned Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) said.

The remarks arrived a day after Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani called on Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa here, weeks after his company inked a deal with the state-owned Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) to develop and manage the strategic Colombo Port’s Western Container Terminal (WCT).

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“Privileged to meet President @GotabayaR and PM @PresRajapaksa. In addition to developing Colombo Port’s Western Container Terminal, the Adani Group will explore other infrastructure partnerships,” Adani tweeted.

“India’s strong bonds with Sri Lanka are anchored to centuries’ old historic ties,” Adani wrote on Twitter while sharing pictures of his two meetings here.

Initially, Nalinda Ilangakoon, the Vice Chairman of CEB, said that while talking to reporters, the Adani group has examined financing in Sri Lanka’s wind and renewable energy sector. Ilangakoon said senior officials from the Adani group had visited the northeastern district of Mannar on Monday to investigate the wind power farm there.

He said Gautam Adani and a 10-member delegation went to Mannar on a Sri Lanka Airforce helicopter. The Board of Investment said the Phase II of the Mannar Wind Energy Park with a capacity of 100 MW is accessible on a Build, Own, Operate, and Transfer (BOOT) basis for possible investors.

The visit came as the Adani Group in September sealed the deal to run the Colombo Port’s WCT. Their effort to get control of the Eastern Container Terminal (ECT) failed due to mounting resistance from local port trade unions. The government withdrew the tripartite alliance with India and Japan on the ETC by offering the WCT.