CEB hires external lawyer for Rs. 18mn to expedite Lakvijaya extension project
The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has hired an external lawyer for nearly Rs 18mn to draft agreements related to the formation of a joint venture with China Machinery Engineering Corporation ( CMEC) for a 300MW extension to the Lakvijaya Coal Power Plant at Norochcholai.
Cabinet re c e n t l y instructed the Power and Energy Ministry to direct the CEB to expedite the joint venture agreement with CMEC, which built all three units of the Lakvijaya coal power plant in Norochcholai. The offer for an extension did not come from China.
The l aw ye r, a President’s Counsel, is to be retained for “professional services” for the formation of the joint venture company and for finalization project-related agreements, say the minutes of a CEB boardroom meeting on April 24, 2020.
The minutes, a copy of which was seen by the Sunday Times, reveal that the Board approved to retain the lawyer’s services at a total cost of Rs. 17.65 million, excluding taxes.
A project committee appointed by the CEB’s General Manager to make recommendations about the way forward for the project-- including technical, financial and legal requirements to be fulfilled by the CEB--has recommended retaining his services on an urgent basis, the minutes show.
The Board was advised that retaining an experienced lawyer for the project is “very essential as preparation of Power Purchase Agreement, Implementation Agreement and Coal Supply Agreement is very complicated due to the fact that many facilities will be shared among the existing Lakvijaya Power Plant”, the minutes state.
The lawyer was nominated by several parties as he has “vast experience and knowledge” in providing legal expertise for large power projects similar to the existing Lakvijaya extension. He has provided legal consultancy for Asia Power, the Barge Mounted Power Plant, Ace Power Horana, Matara and E m b i l i p i t i ya and Heladanavi, etc.
The minutes state that, while the said committee had principally agreed to retain the services of the lawyer, he, too, had “consented and forwarded a proposal to this effect”.
The minutes, a copy of which was seen by the Sunday Times, reveal that the Board approved to retain the lawyer’s services at a total cost of Rs. 17.65 million, excluding taxes.