New Fortress part 2 afoot warns Charitha 

• Accuses Power and Energy Minister of attempting to halt procurement process relating to LNG 
• Says attempts are being made to hand over project to company by deviating from tender process 
• Highlights Justice Minister’s observation that procurement process must be halted only as last resort
• Claims procurement process has not faced any issues that warrant its cancellation  

Freedom People’s Congress (FPC) member and Parliamentarian Prof. Charitha Herath yesterday accused the Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara of attempting to halt an ongoing procurement process for Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) floating storage and regasification units to transfer the project to a particular foreign company.

He drew a parallel between the current situation and the contentious New Fortress deal, which was pursued by the Gotabaya Rajapaksa Government to establish an offshore LNG terminal by setting aside the accepted procurement process. 

Herath noted that in 2018 the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) approved a long-term generation plan to reduce costs with a specific focus on power generation through LNG. “Accordingly in 2021 during the tenure of Dullas Alahapperuma as the Minister of Power and Energy tenders were called for suitable companies to provide the service. However the New Fortress deal was brought forward by certain powerful persons who forcefully delayed the ongoing procurement process,” he said. 

The MP noted that while the deal was stalled due to the change in Government, the tender process nevertheless continued to date. He also noted that a communique dated 20 March 2023 sent by the General Manager of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) to the Ministry of Power and Energy the CEB urged the Ministry to expedite the procurement process. “It is clear the CEB is keen to commence the project as evidenced by this document,” he pointed out. 

In response, the MP presented the Ministry’s stance where it emphasised that considering the considerable interest and proposals from various foreign entities, the analysis phase is still in progress, necessitating additional time.

“It is in this scenario that the subject Minister has now presented yet another Cabinet paper to revisit the National Energy Policy relating to LNG,” he noted. “In fact, the Minister is requesting the suspension of the ongoing LNG procurement process and to take a short-tag transitional measure to meet urgent LNG requirements,” he added. 

The MP said this is yet another scenario similar to the previous New Fortress deal where now the procurement process will be disregarded to hand over the LNG project to yet another company. He accused political parties and Cabinet ministers of continuously mishandling the tender process according to their whims and fancies. 

“The Cabinet has now approved this but the observations of the Minister of Justice Dr Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe on this deal are noteworthy,” Herath said. 

In fact, delivering his observations in a communique dated 24 July 2023 Rajapakshe has noted that while a procurement entity has the right to cancel the process before awarding the tender it has to be done only as a last resort if such a decision is unavoidable.

“But there is no issue like that at present. There is no technical or legal issue that warrants a cancellation,” the MP noted. 

He called upon the Government to adhere to the proper procurement process and raised concerns about whether the Cabinet thoroughly reviews such documents before granting approval.

“Two Ministers to date have attempted to change the procurement process relating to LNG based on their needs and wants. The Government continues to pretend it is transparent in all its dealings. New Fortress part 2 is now afoot,” he claimed.