The Power and Energy Ministry’s drive towards energy security and renewable energy expansion received a major boost yesterday with the signing of a tripartite cooperation agreement for the development of the 150 MW Kondachchi Wind Power Project and an integrated Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Mannar.

The agreement was signed at the Ministry of Power auditorium under the patronage of Power Minister Anura Karunatilaka and Deputy Power Minister Arkam Ilyas.

Speaking at the event, Ministry Secretary G. M. R. D. Aponsu described the project as a transformative investment that would strengthen the country’s electricity network while supporting Sri Lanka’s transition towards cleaner energy sources.

“The Kondachchi Wind Power Project represents a significant milestone in Sri Lanka’s renewable energy journey. By combining large-scale wind generation with advanced battery energy storage technology, we are creating a more resilient and reliable power system capable of meeting future energy demands while reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels,” Aponsu said.

The project will be developed at Silavathurai in the Kondachchi area of Mannar on lands owned by the Sri Lanka Cashew Corporation. It is expected to utilise some 31 modern wind turbines with a total installed capacity of at least 150 MW.

Aponsu said the inclusion of an integrated battery storage facility would help address the variability associated with wind power generation and ensure stable electricity supply to the national grid.

“The battery energy storage component is a key feature of this project. It will enable the efficient integration of renewable energy into the grid and enhance overall system stability, which is essential as Sri Lanka increases the share of renewables in its energy mix,” he said.

According to the Ministry, the wind farm is expected to generate nearly 525 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually, significantly reducing the country’s expenditure on imported fuel and strengthening national energy security.

The project is also expected to contribute to Sri Lanka’s climate commitments by reducing carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 372,750 tonnes annually.

“This investment delivers both economic and environmental benefits. It will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, support sustainable development objectives and help Sri Lanka move closer to achieving its renewable energy and climate targets,” Aponsu noted.

The project will be implemented under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement using the Build, Own and Operate (BOO) model. The Asian Development Bank is providing technical and financial advisory support through its Transaction Advisory Services programme.

The signing ceremony was attended by Pradeep Perera, Chairman of the National System Operator (Pvt) Ltd., and Takeyo Koike, Head of Market Development and Public-Private Partnership Division of the ADB, among other distinguished guests.

The Ministry said comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessments and avifaunal studies have been undertaken to ensure minimal impacts on bird populations, nearby communities and agricultural lands. A dedicated 220-kilovolt transmission system will also be constructed to connect the project to the national grid.

“The Kondachchi Wind Farm is a strategic national project that will help secure Sri Lanka’s energy future while accelerating the country’s transition towards sustainable and affordable electricity generation,” Aponsu said.

Energy sector experts view the project as one of the most important renewable energy initiatives currently being pursued in Sri Lanka, combining utility-scale wind generation with modern energy storage technology to enhance grid reliability and long-term energy sustainability.

By Ifham Nizam

Interview with Khalid Hamoud Al-Kahtani, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Sri Lanka

Saudi Arabia has once again demonstrated its unparalleled capacity to manage one of the world’s largest annual religious gatherings, with this year’s Hajj pilgrimage concluding successfully despite extreme temperatures and the immense logistical challenge of accommodating more than 1.7 million pilgrims from around the world.

In an exclusive interview with The Island, Khalid Hamoud Al-Kahtani, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Sri Lanka, described the 2026 Hajj season as a resounding success, crediting the achievement to the visionary leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and the coordinated efforts of multiple government agencies working around the clock to serve pilgrims.

The Ambassador noted that nearly 3,500 Sri Lankan pilgrims participated in this year’s Hajj under the quota allocated to Sri Lanka, benefiting from enhanced healthcare services, sophisticated crowd-management systems, expanded shaded areas and cutting-edge digital solutions introduced by the Kingdom.

With Saudi Arabia continuing to invest heavily in infrastructure, technology and pilgrim services under Vision 2030, Ambassador Al-Kahtani said the Kingdom remains committed to ensuring that pilgrims from around the world perform their religious duties in safety, comfort and tranquility.

The Saudi envoy also highlighted the growing partnership between Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka, emphasising expanding cooperation not only in Hajj affairs but also in trade, investment, education, culture and institutional exchanges.

Following are excerpts of the interview:

Q: How do you assess this year’s Hajj season?

Ambassador Al-Kahtani: This year’s Hajj season was a resounding success, thanks to the Almighty Allah and the integrated efforts of the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, led by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister. This success was reflected in the efficiency of crowd management, the quality of services provided to the Hajj pilgrims and the effective coordination among the various relevant authorities, which enabled pilgrims to perform their rituals in an atmosphere of security, tranquility and ease.

Q: How many Sri Lankan pilgrims performed Hajj this year?

Ambassador Al-Kahtani: The number of Hajj pilgrims from the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka reached approximately 3,500, within the quota allocated to Sri Lanka for this season.

Q: Are there any discussions regarding increasing Sri Lanka’s quota in the future?

Ambassador Al-Kahtani:Hajj quotas are determined according to approved regulatory mechanisms that take into account a range of considerations. The relevant authorities in the Kingdom continue to study various aspects related to developing Hajj services and accommodating the allocated numbers for all countries, in coordination with the concerned parties.

Q: What were the most prominent special arrangements implemented this year?

Ambassador Al-Kahtani: The operational plans for this season focused on enhancing the safety and comfort of the Hajj pilgrims, especially given the climatic conditions and high temperatures. Measures included expanding shaded areas, increasing water distribution points and enhancing health and ambulance services, in addition to developing the transportation system and traffic management within the holy sites.

Q: What are the most prominent digital systems and smart services that were provided?

Ambassador Al-Kahtani:The Kingdom continues to implement its digital transformation objectives for the Hajj and Umrah system. The scope of electronic services offered through the Nusuk platform and application has been expanded, along with the development of digital systems for issuing permits, managing crowds, guidance and health services. This contributes to increasing the efficiency of services and improving the pilgrim’s experience at all stages of their journey.

Q: How were the challenges of overcrowding and heat addressed?

Ambassador Al-Kahtani: The relevant authorities adopted an integrated crowd-management system based on modern technologies and real-time data analysis. This was coupled with intensified health-awareness campaigns, expanded organised movement routes and increased deployment of field, medical and emergency teams. These measures support the safety of the Hajj pilgrims and reduce the risks associated with crowd density and climatic conditions.

Q: Were there special services for the elderly and sick?

Ambassador Al-Kahtani: Yes. The Kingdom paid special attention to the elderly and people with special health needs by providing specialized medical services, assistive transportation and facilities equipped to meet their needs, in addition to field teams working to provide humanitarian support and necessary healthcare throughout the Hajj period.

Q: How successful was the Kingdom in combating irregular Hajj permits?

Ambassador Al-Kahtani: The relevant authorities in the Kingdom continued to rigorously implement the regulations and instructions governing Hajj, utilising modern technologies and advanced monitoring procedures to reduce violations related to irregular Hajj. These efforts contributed to enhancing the safety of pilgrims, improving crowd-management efficiency and maintaining the smooth flow of movement within the holy sites.

Q: How would you describe Saudi-Sri Lankan cooperation in organising Hajj?

Ambassador Al-Kahtani: Cooperation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Sri Lanka is characterised by continuous and constructive coordination in all matters related to Hajj. The relevant authorities in both countries work jointly to ensure the provision of the best services for Sri Lankan pilgrims and enable them to perform their rituals with ease and peace of mind.

Q: How many Hajj pilgrims were there globally, and what were the main challenges?

Ambassador Al-Kahtani: According to official statistics, the number of Hajj pilgrims this year reached 1,707,301 from various countries around the world. The main challenges included managing large crowds, ensuring public safety and providing health, transportation and accommodation services within a specific geographical and temporal scope. These challenges were addressed through advanced and integrated operational plans, which contributed to the smooth and successful completion of the Hajj season.

Q: Are there any future expansion projects?

Ambassador Al-Kahtani: The Kingdom continues to implement strategic development projects within the framework of Vision 2030, including developing the infrastructure in Makkah and the Holy Sites, and enhancing transportation networks and smart services. This contributes to raising the quality of services provided to pilgrims and Umrah performers and improving their long-term experience.

Q: How are Saudi-Sri Lankan relations  strengthened outside the context of Hajj?

Ambassador Al-Kahtani: Relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Sri Lanka are witnessing continuous development in many areas, including political, economic, trade, cultural and educational cooperation, in addition to developing exchanges between institutions and the private sector. This reflects the two countries’ keenness to strengthen the bilateral partnership and achieve common interests.

Q: What message would you like to convey to Sri Lankan Muslims?

Ambassador Al-Kahtani: We extend our sincere congratulations to the Hajj pilgrims who have completed their Hajj rituals, and we ask Almighty Allah to accept their pilgrimage. We also assure Muslims in Sri Lanka that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia places serving the Two Holy Mosques and the guests of Almighty Allah at the forefront of its priorities and continues to develop the Hajj and Umrah system to achieve the highest standards of quality and safety.

By Ifham Nizam

Tales of Mystery and Suspense 4

Though murder mysteries that are also comic novels are not very common, I have read quite a few of them recently, in two separate series. The first was the books by Caryl Brahms and S J Simon, the first book in which I described a couple of weeks back.

The second series of murders and comedy together is a recent one by a television personality called Richard Osman. The first book is called The Thursday Murder Club and gives its title to the series, of which I believe about five books have appeared already. The Club is a group of friends in a retirement home who meet once a week to look at unsolved cases, and soon find themselves trying to solve those which have loose ends which they feel they will be able to tie up.

The story of the first book begins with the recruitment of a retired nurse, Joyce, to take the place of a retired police officer, Penny, whose mind and body were in terminal decline. Penny and her friend Elizabeth, a retired spy, had set up the club, with an accountant called Ibrahim and a trade unionist called Ron. They had worked on Penny’s old files, and tried to work out the murderer in unsolved cases, but the one with which the story opens, as to which Joyce was called on to help, was new to them. It was about a girl who had bled to death in her boyfriend’s arms, and Joyce’s account of how long this would have taken seemed to confirm the view that the boyfriend had done it, not a burglar who had got away.

The boyfriend had vanished, getting away from Penny’s squad car when he was being taken for questioning, and was never seen again, though the consensus of the Club was that he would not have been convicted anyway. But before they have decided to move on to something else, they are confronted with a murder in their midst, of the builder, Tony Curran, who had worked for the developer of the Rest Home, Ian Ventham. This happens after an argument, which Ventham does not admit to, but which was about him dismissing Tony, having decided that the partnership on the basis of which they had worked lost him too much of the profits he anticipated.

The writer, Richard Osman, moves between third person narratives and Joyce’s first-person account in a diary, and he had told us that Ian was frightened that Tony, who had a criminal record, might kill him. Though the argument ends without any violence, we move to Tony going home and planning Ian’s death, but then he himself is murdered. The killer leaves with the body an old picture of Tony with Ron’s son Jason, a professional wrestler who had been involved in minor criminal activity, and another hireling of Tony, Bobby Tanner, who had vanished.

The first suspect is of course Ian, but then he too is murdered. This is during a fracas when he sent his new builder, Bogdan, and diggers, to destroy the cemetery where the nuns, who had occupied the site of the home previously, were buried. The residents have gathered to protest, and some have chained themselves to the gate into the cemetery, but when he pushes a priest who had come to see him earlier, and he falls, all the residents pile onto him. And one of them pushes a needle into him, to inject him with fentanyl, so that he dies almost immediately.

Osman

At the time of the second murder, that of the property developer Ian Ventham, a third murder is discovered. His builder Bogdan, who had thought to make a start on digging up the graves while the fracas with the mechanised diggers went on at the gate, had found a body in the oldest grave of all. He covers this up, but in time he reveals the fact to Elizabeth, with whose husband Stephen he had begun to play chess when he called on her. Stephen, her third husband, is losing his wits, but he still has plenty of them left, and in fact he works out who killed Curran, on the basis of what he had heard from Elizabeth.

After she has established, with the help of a forensics expert, that the body in the grave dates from fifty years back, and is that of a male with a gunshot injury in his leg, Elizabeth informs the police of its existence. The Detective in charge of the case, Chris Hudson, is furious, but realizes there is nothing he can do. He has grown to be graceful about the involvement of the club, and is even grateful when they trace Bobby Tanner.

Tanner has a new life, and the Club maintains secrecy but brings him in to see Hudson, who sees no case against him. By now he is convinced that Ventham’s killer was Matthew Mackie, the priest whom Ventham had pushed, and who Elizabeth has discovered is not a priest. By summoning him to the old chapel, to hear a confession, though she does not mention whose this will be, she gets from him the reason for his obsession with the graveyard. She confesses to having murdered someone and put the body in the grave, but he tells her he does not believe her, and when she tells him she knew he had worked there in 1870, he relates his own rather sad but not criminal story.

Another red herring has been provided by Bernard, whom Joyce rather fancies, though he seems impervious to anyone, committed as he is to his dead Indian wife. But the Club finds out the reason for his obsession with a bench near the graveyard, from which he could see what was going on there, though it turns out that it was the bench that was more important to him.

When the Club finds someone else who had been near the site in the seventies, they realise they have solved the case. This was Penny’s husband John Gray, who tells them that, having put a horse out of its misery, he did the same for its owner who was also in a state of despair. But Elizabeth does not believe him, and then the truth comes out, taking the novel back to its beginnings, and the boyfriend who had been invalided out of the army, because he had a gunshot wound in his leg.

Far too many coincidences to be plausible, far too many guilty secrets to be credible, but that is not the point. The book is a splendid romp, and the manoeuvers of the Club to get information, including through helping a constable who found routine work tiresome to be put on the murder case – where she is a source of great comfort to Hudson – are delightful. I can only hope I get to see the film, which has a stellar cast.