8 Bids for 300 MW multi-fuel power plant at Kerawalapitiya: CEB
The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has received eight bids to set up a 300 MegaWatt (MW) multi-fuel combined cycle power plant at Kerawalapitiya.
Bids were invited by the CEB after 12 years, for the Build, Own, Operate & Transfer (BOOT) project. The technical proposals were opened when the deadline for submissions expired on April 21. “There are a few good bids from reputed firms, including Lanka Transformers Ltd, which is a CEB subsidiary,” said a senior Engineer. “It is a competition and we are happy.”
The plant will be operated through a private power purchase agreement. It will run on diesel for three years and on natural gas for the next 17 years. "How the tender is handled will determine market confidence in other public-private partnerships to come," said a sector expert.
The process was not without hitches. The initial Request for Proposals (RFP) was so poorly designed that a large number of addenda and annexures were added on at least three separate occasions, after the calling of bids. This led to the extension of the deadline for submission of proposals. In a departure from usual government practice and, in an effort to introduce transparency into the tender process, all relevant documents--including the RFP and addenda--have been published on the CEB website.
“Financial bids will be invited from the parties shortlisted by the Technical Evaluation Committee,” the Engineer said. The successful company will establish a single-purpose project company in which the Government of Sri Lanka will hold a golden share. At the end of the 20-year period, the company will transfer ownership of the facility to the CEB.
The financing of the plant will be through a mixture of equity and debt, and will be the sole responsibility of the company. The site is at Kerawalapitiya in the Gampaha district where the CEB owns a 13-hectare property within a new industrial development reclaimed from the Muthurajawela swamp.
“The private sector has been and is expected to continue to play an increasing role in Power sector development activities,” the RFP says. At present, four Independent Power Producers (IPPs) are generating Electrical power to the CEB's national grid. These are Asia Power (Pvt.) Ltd, Sojitz Kelanitissa (Pvt.) Ltd, West Coast (Pvt) Ltd, and Northern Power. Further generation licences have been issued to a number of small Power producers.
The Agreements between CEB and Lakdhanavi (Pvt) Ltd, ACE Power Generation Matara (Pvt) Ltd, ACE Power Generation Anuradhapura (Pvt) Ltd, Heladhanavi (Pvt) Ltd, and ACE Power Generation Embilipitiya (Pvt) Ltd have automatically ended at the expiry of their periods.