CEB puts on hold new building projects, acquiring land due to financial constraints

By Ifham Nizam

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) top management has decided to put on hold most of the building projects and acquiring new land due to financial constraints, informed officials said.

CEB Chairman Vijitha Herath told The Island that although some of them had been approved, others had been stopped till a master plan was put in place. He said that the formulation of the plan would take between two and three months.

He also said that the CEB made recommendations to bring in retired Additional General Manager (Transmission) Dr. Susantha Perera, as a consultant.

Although some unions of the CEB said that nobody in the CEB history had been reappointed immediately after retirement, CEB Chairman Vijitha Herath said Dr. Perera’s vast experience and knowledge of the subject would benefit the CEB.

Speaking from the Mannar Wind Power Plant Complex, the CEB chief said that plans were underway to connect 30 MW to the national grid on November.

Once completed the first phase of the wind farm will produce 100 MW of power to the national grid.

The primary contractor, Vestas Asia Pacific (responsible for engineering, procurement and construction and provide the delivery, installation and commissioning of 30 V126 – 3.45 MW wind turbines, and all civil and electrical work including the final main gravity foundation), along with their specialist civil engineering sub-contractor, Access Engineering PLC (responsible for geo-technical investigations and pilling, the construction of the foundation for the wind turbines and the installation of medium voltage cables), had achieved progress amidst the challenging conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CEB Chairman said.