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Tuesday, 29 November 2011 02:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Akbar Brothers Group and Hirdaramani Group have joined hands with Esna Holdings owned by Eshana de Silva to develop renewable energy projects. The new venture “Esna Power Limited” will seek a public listing in the near future, the promoters said yesterday.
Esna Power Ltd has commenced operations in the sector with two MHPs of 3.8 mega watts and 2.5 mega watts. The 3.8 MW project is the Bulawatta MHP located in the Haldamulla area with a gross head of 127m and a design flow of 3.9 m3/s. This plant will contribute 12.5 GWh of energy to the national grid on its completion in 20 months. The 2.5 MW project is named the Mudugetta MHP located in the Neluwa area with a gross head of 15m and a design flow of 21.8 m3/s. This plant will contribute 10.1 GWh of energy to the national grid on its completion in 18 months. The Madugetta plant is a joint venture with Vidul Lanka PLC. The total investment envisaged in these two projects will be LKR 1.25 billion. A unique feature of these projects would be the use of Sri Lankan manufactured hydro turbines from VS Hydro Ltd.
The Board Chairman is Asgi Akbarally and the Board comprises of Manjula Perera, Eshana de Silva, Dhuneesha Nanayakkara, Vinod Hirdaramani, Ranil Pathirana and Moiz Najmudeen.
Akbar Brothers is Sri Lanka’s largest tea exporter under their flagship brand of “Akbar”. The Company also has presence in the power sector, healthcare, packaging, property development and environmental services. Hirdaramani Group is a diversified company being one of Sri Lanka’s leading apparel manufacturers and exporters, with interests in retail, hospitality, power generation and IT. Esna Holdings is a company primarily engaged in strategic investments with interests in the finance and power sector, leisure and logistics and shipping services.
Esna Power targets to quickly grow their renewable energy portfolio by exploring the bio mass, solar, tidal and wind energy sectors as well. The company has also obtained a permit to develop a mini hydro plant in Uganda.
Sri Lanka is a country blessed with many natural resources. The energy generation from Non-conventional Renewable Energy (NCRE) gained momentum in Sri Lanka over the last decade. To date the contribution by NCRE for the national energy consumption is over 6.8%. The target of GOSL under the Mahinda Chinthanaya is to make this contribution achieve 20% by year 2020.
