As Sri Lanka embarks on the development of its nuclear power programme, the country is making progress in establishing the necessary nuclear infrastructure, according to an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) review mission that recently concluded.

An IAEA release said that the follow-up Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) mission, conducted at the request of the Government of Sri Lanka, took place from 14 to 18 July 2025.

The mission team, comprising two international experts from Bulgaria and Türkiye and two IAEA staff,  assessed the progress made to address the recommendations and suggestions of the Phase 1 2022 INIR mission. A Phase 1 INIR mission assesses the readiness of a country to make a knowledgeable commitment to a nuclear power programme using the Phase 1 criteria of the IAEA Milestones Approach and Evaluation Methodology. The 2022 mission made 26 recommendations and six suggestions to assist Sri Lanka in advancing its infrastructure development.

In 2010, Sri Lanka’s Cabinet approved the initiation of studies for implementing a nuclear power programme in the country. In 2019, a Nuclear Energy Programme Implementing Organisation (NEPIO) was established to coordinate related efforts, which included the Ministry of Energy, the Sri Lanka Atomic Energy Board (SLAEB), the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and the Sri Lanka Atomic Energy Regulatory Council (SLAERC). In 2024, the government decided on further actions to consider a nuclear power programme.

The INIR team concluded that Sri Lanka has made good progress to address recommendations and suggestions from the Phase 2 INIR mission in 2022. Sri Lanka has already identified five candidate sites for the nuclear power plant, established a management structure to oversee the procurement process for nuclear reactors, drafted a comprehensive nuclear law and included nuclear power in its current long-term energy planning for the period 2025-2044.

Sri Lanka hosted a national workshop on nuclear law in November 2023, as well as an IAEA  Site and External Events Design Review Service (SEED) mission in 2024, which reviewed the country’s selection process to identify candidate sites to build its first nuclear power plant. A SEED follow up mission was also conducted, which took place in July this year.

“Sri Lanka is actively working on addressing the recommendations and suggestions from the main INIR mission in 2022,” said mission team leader John Haddad from IAEA’s Nuclear Infrastructure Development Section. “This indicates the level of commitment of Sri Lanka to conduct the required studies and make a knowledgeable decision regarding the nuclear power programme.”

In the opening ceremony for the INIR Mission, Eng. Kumara Jayakody, Cabinet Minister of Energy, welcomed the INIR mission as “a significant milestone in Sri Lanka’s journey towards a secure, sustainable and forward-looking energy future as we take decisive steps forward in exploring the role of nuclear power in our national energy mix.”

Nuclear Power is included as an energy source within the CEB Least Cost Long Term Generation and Expansion Plan 2025-2044. According to the plan, accommodating a nuclear power unit above 600 MWe to the Sri Lankan network will be technically challenging due to the network’s condition, projected demand growth, and the generation mix which is expected to be dominated by variable renewable energy sources. The team said that further work is needed related to the finalisation of strategies and studies in various areas of infrastructure development such as, among others, management, human resource development, stakeholder involvement, radioactive waste management and industrial involvement.