Claim: President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has cancelled the windmill project with Adani group.
Fact: Cabinet Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa confirmed that the government has not made any firm decision regarding the project yet.
A news item is being shared on social media in recent days that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has cancelled a 442 million dollar windmill project with India based Adani Group.
The news is being widely shared on social media platforms, including TikTok, Instagram and Facebook along with a photo of Gautam Adani.
What is the Windmill Project?
In 2022, the Sri Lankan government approved a deal with Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s renewable energy wing, Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL), to develop two wind power plants in Mannar and Poonaryn, located in the Mannar District of Northern Province, Sri Lanka. The provisional approval for this wind power project with the Adani Group was granted by the previous government. The agreement is a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Adani Green to produce a capacity of 484 MW.
In a session held on March 7, 2022, the Cabinet of Ministers approved a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Sri Lankan government and India’s Adani Green Energy Limited. A special committee was appointed to assess the feasibility of the proposal provided by Adani Green Energy Limited. Based on the committee’s recommendations, the Cabinet of Ministers approved awarding a tender to the same company to purchase electricity generated by the windmills, following a proposition made by the Minister of Energy. According to the tender, after the construction of the windmills, Adani Green Energy Limited will pay 8.26 USD cents (or the equivalent in LKR at the current exchange rate) per kilowatt-hour of electricity, which is the final price.
The pricing of this PPA, along with environmental concerns, global standards, transparency, and several other issues, has been widely debated. Activists and politicians have opposed the implementation of the project.
Factcheck / Verification
On initial analysis, we checked the official social media pages of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the President’s Media Division, and the official website of the Ministry of Energy but found no record of such a statement.
However, we did come across a video in which President Anura Kumara Dissanayake expressed his stance on this project before the Presidential election. In the video, he stated, “This deal with Adani is corrupt and against Sri Lanka’s interests. The Adani company, which produces 450MW, offers a price of $0.0826 per unit, while Green Force, a local company that produces 50MW, offers it for only $0.0488 per unit. Given the size of the Adani project, its cost should be lower. It is clearly a corrupt deal, so we will definitely cancel it.”
Former Cabinet Spokesperson Vijitha Herath stated during a Cabinet press meeting on October 9, 2024, that several public interest litigations had been filed seeking to invalidate the agreement. He mentioned that they had advised the lawyer to request the court for additional time to allow the government to investigate the project. However, he confirmed that since the formation of the new government, no new decisions have been made regarding the agreements with the Adani Group.
In addition, during the cabinet press conference on November 26, 2024, several journalists inquired about the government’s decisions regarding the Adani Group’s projects. In response, Cabinet Spokesman Minister Dr Nalinda Jayatissa stated that the government has requested reports on the Adani Group’s projects in Sri Lanka and will conduct a thorough investigation. He also confirmed that no final decision has been made regarding these agreements at this time.
Conclusion
The viral news claiming that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has cancelled the windmill project with Adani is misleading. Cabinet Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa confirmed that the government has not made any firm decision regarding the project yet. Additionally, a statement made by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake before the presidential election has been used in the current context, misleading the people, as no final decision has been made.
Result: False
Our Sources
News report on Daily FT, dated May 08, 2024
Press Release on Cabinet Decisions from the Meeting Held on 06.05.2024
News Video from the Satana Program on News 1st YouTube Channel, dated September 14, 2024.
News video about the Cabinet press meeting on the Daily FT YouTube channel, dated October 9, 2024.
News video about the Cabinet press conference on the News 1st YouTube channel, dated November 26, 2024.
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