Aussie investor’s long struggle ends
After nearly five years, an Australian company has finally secured approval to set up two waste recycling plants in Katunayake and Bingiriya with both set to provide at least 20 megawatts of electricity plus organic fertiliser.
E n d e avo u r Energy Corporation Ltd ( EECS), an Australian-based international corporate entity, is the investor that has been knocking on the doors to seek approval for the investment.
But its problems are not over yet. Approvals sought since 2017 from the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) are yet to be given. They have already obtained approval from the Board of Investment (BOI), the Central Environmental Authority, Ministry of Planning and also Cabinet approval, according to Sri Lankan- born Kumar Perumal, Chairman of Endeavour.
The Katunayake project, on a 10 acre land awarded by the BOI, is a unique one, for when completed it would provide 10 megawatts of power to maintain the entire air-conditioning network at t he Bandaranaike International Airport. It would be using 350 tons of recycled industrial and hazardous waste per day.
The Bingiriya project is to recycle poultry waste and household waste to provide 10 megawatts of power and organic fertiliser to the tune of 75,000 tons of organic fertiliser using 135,000 tons of poultry and household waste.
The company is an expert in recycling of waste world over and they are recycling 60 per cent of waste in the European region.
It is strategically focused to long-term commitment in Asian Pacific Region to develop and operate ‘Green Energy’, particularly waste to energy (WTE) processing solid waste and liquid waste. Endeavour’s complimentary core focus also is to produce organic fertiliser, company officials said.
Its problems started in 2015. Though it was given land in Katunayake to start recycling municipal waste, it encountered problems.
Tenders were then called for two similar projects one in Gampaha and the other in Karadiyana and two companies, a Sri Lankan company was selected for Gampaha and a Ko rean Company for Karadiyana but subsequently these licences were cancelled.
Then Susantha Ratnayake, the new BOI chairman – appointed last year - agreed to the Endeavour’s projects which were in suspense -, and gave approval for its two projects.
The company has been shuttling from one state agency to another to get the necessary approvals to commence the projects and met the President who then referred them to the Minister concerned.
The BOI offered land in Mirigama but the company was not interested there but instead had bought 35 acres of land in Bingiriya to do the poultry and household waste project.
Then the matter was referred to the CEB, and Mr. Perumal said: “We are waiting for the last two months for the ‘letter of intent’.”
From the day they set up the office in Colombo in 2015 and for other preliminary work of studies and surveys they have spent Rs. 20 million while to purchase the Bingiriya land they spent Rs. 17 million.
The moment CEB issues the letter of intent the country would get FDI – through this project - to the value of US$200 million, 20 megawatts of electricity, 75,000 tons of organic fertiliser and provide around 2500 jobs.
In the meantime the company has also done preliminary studies on recycling municipal and other household garbage of the entire country. In the case of the Colombo municipal garbage which is sent to Puttalam by train for land filling and if they get the consent of the government, Mr. Perumal says they could use this to do the entire recycling garbage in the country.
It would produce 100 megawatts of electricity and the country would receive $250 million as FDIs with several thousands of jobs and a massive amount of organic fertiliser, Mr. Perumal said.