Energy projects proposed some years back would have averted major power crisis: former BOI chief
If Sri Lanka had approved many energy projects that were pending a few years ago, the country wouldn't be facing a major energy crisis, a former top public official has said.
“During my time at the Board of Investment (BOI), there were five companies that had made proposals for investment in LNG power generation during 2017. None of these investments was realised and instead fell by the way side. All these investments proposed to sell power at a price between 7-11 US cents with no charge for idle power,” noted Upul Jayasuriya, PC and a former BOI chairman, on Wednesday.
He was delivering the Daya Wettasinghe Memorial Oration at the Lanka Japan Friendship Society (LJFS) in Colombo.
In a long presentation dealing with many issues including why the country has failed while many other countries, which were lagging behind Sri Lanka (“All political parties should get involved in the process in making policy for the next 10 years. If we do that the governments may change but the policy shall remain firm”), have overtaken this country, he said that Sri Lanka shouldn’t have an energy crisis at all for a country that has sunshine throughout the year.
“Our solar energy that we generate is 1 per cent of our requirement. European countries that have four months of sunshine have 50 per cent of their power generated from renewable energy. Why is that we haven’t had any investment in renewable energy in the recent past materialise?” he asked.
The five companies that have sought approval during his tenure at the BOI were - Lanka Aloka AB Ltd with a proposed investment of US$550 million and generating 488 MW of power; Sithe Global Power Ventures ($1 billion and 500 MW), Energy World International Ltd ($750 million and 500 MW), Shapoorji & Pallongi Group ($400 million and 140 MW) and China Machinery Engineering
Corp ($728.8 million and 400 MW).
He said today’s society has entered a rat race with an insatiable greed for money, power with self-indulgence and empty glory at the expense of the innocent peasantry struggling hard to make their ends meet. “Today barefooted children walk their way to school in hot sunshine, some without furniture, toilets or
even water in the school. They can barely afford their meals. Where is our development, where is our artificial intelligence and where are we heading? Are we doing the right thing by them, the next generation who are hapless with no hope for the future and are voiceless? 80 per cent of our population suffers from abject poverty,” he said.
He added that Sri Lanka once had an excellent civil administration, a highly commendable judiciary, police and public service, and education system. “These belong to the inheritance from the Colonial forefathers ….. of course we could be proud of what we inherited. But where are we today? Is it that the systems have failed or the people have failed?” he noted, adding that the administrative service has become lip service with insincerity towards the people and a bunch of ‘yes’ men to the politicians.
Expressing a wish that more focus should be given to IT, Mr. Jayasuriya said that garments export revenue came down to $4.4 billion in 2021 from $5.6 billion in 2020 with 70 per cent of the inputs imported whereas in the case of software development it is a 100 per cent contribution to the GDP. Sri Lanka earned $1.5 billion from software exports but that amount can significantly rise in the future given the proper encouragement and incentives.
India attracted $200 billion and Bangladesh $20 billion in foreign direct investment last year while Sri Lanka was able to manage just S$389 million from $1.5 billion in 2018, he said, adding that there is an urgent need to stimulate more FDI.