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CEB saddled with USD 30,000 a day demurrage payments to ship that brought coal last Friday
By Ifham Nizam
The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has failed to furnish a Letter of Credit (LoC) to a ship carrying coal that arrived here on 01 April and this has resulted in a demurrage payment of USD 30,000 a day since then, The Island reliably learns.
About 38 to 42 ships carry coal to Sri Lanka from South Africa, Russia and Indonesia annually.
CEB Chairman M. M.C. Ferdinando last week agreed that the CEB needed about six billion rupees to import the remaining four shipments of coal for the Lakviyaja Coal Power plant at Norochcholai.
“We called a spot tender for eight shipments of coal. We have already taken delivery of four. We need to open Letters of Credit for four more shipments,” the CEB Chief said at the Presidential Media Centre during a news conference on Thursday.
Although Ferdinando assured that they would find that Rs. 06 billion on 01 April, payments have not been done.
The CEB Chairman was not immediately available for comment.
Engineers believe that ships should not be delayed, but should be cleared before rough seas set in.
The Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers’ Union President Anil Ranjith has told the media it is imperative that CEB take delivery of the required coal shipments at the earliest before the monsoon season begins to keep the three coal fired power plants at Norochcholai running until August. The Norochcholai power complex provide about half the electricity requirement of the country.
It is reported that the four shipments would amount to a total of 240,000 metric tonnes (MT) of coal.
The Kelanitissa Power Plant Complex has received 5,000 MT of fuel which is sufficient for three days.
The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) said that a vessel carrying 40, 000 MT of diesel had reached here under the Indian line of credit.
The stock of 40,000 MT of diesel that arrived here on Saturday was distributed on Sunday.
The report of the “Census of Population and Housing 2024,” conducted by the Department of Census and Statistics, was officially handed over to President Anura Kumara Disanayake this morning (07) at the Presidential Secretariat.
This preliminary report has been prepared based on island wide data collected between October and December 2024.
The report provides details on Sri Lanka’s population, its growth and the distribution of the population across districts.
The information gathered through the census is vital not only for the government but also for other institutions in formulating policies and development plans essential for the country’s progress. Significantly, for the first time in the history of census-collecting in Sri Lanka, data collection was carried out using tablet computers and user-friendly mobile devices.
The event was attended by Deputy Minister of Finance & Planning, Harshana Suriyapperuma, Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance Mahinda Siriwardana, Director General of the Department of Census and Statistics D.D.G.A. Senevirathne and several other officials.
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka today (07) presented its flagship publication, the Annual Economic Review for 2024 (AER 2024), to President and Minister of Finance, Anura Kumara Disanayake, highlighting the steady progress of Sri Lanka’s economic recovery following the country’s most severe downturn in recent history.
The report was officially handed over by Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Governor of the Central Bank, during a special ceremony held at the Presidential Secretariat.
AER 2024 comprises four main chapters: Macroeconomic Developments, Conditions of the Financial System, Review of Central Bank’s Policies and Macroeconomic Outlook.
According to the Review, the Sri Lankan economy showed significant signs of recovery in 2024, following the deep economic crisis experienced two years ago. The recovery trajectory, though challenging, has been notably faster than that of many other debt-distressed countries.
Improvements in economic activity, a partial resurgence in purchasing power and reduced uncertainty are among the key positive indicators noted in the report.
The event was attended by Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the President, K. M. Mahinda Siriwardena, Secretary to the Treasury, Mrs. K. M. A. N. Daulagala, Senior Deputy Governor, Dr. C. Amarasekara, Assistant Governor, Dr. (Mrs.) S. Jegajeevan, Director of Economic Research and Dr. L. R. C. Pathberiya and Additional Director of Economic Research at the Central Bank Dr. V. D. Wickramarachchi.
[PMD]
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The sun will be directly overhead Colombo, Awissawella, Talawakelle, Dimbula, Galakumbura and Dambagalla at about 12:12 noon today [07]
On the apparent northward relative motion of the sun, it is going to be directly over the latitudes of Sri Lanka during 05th to 14th of April in this year.
The nearest areas of Sri Lanka over which the sun is overhead today (07th) are Colombo, Awissawella, Talawakelle, Dimbula, Galakumbura and Dambagalla at about 12:12 noon.
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