Features
Mannar wind farm: Another folly like Sinharaja logging project on the horizon? – II
By Prof. Emeritus Nimal Gunatilleke, University of Peradeniya
(Part one of this article appeared on 01 April 2024)
World Bank Off-shore Wind Power Roadmap for Sri Lanka as a viable alternative?
According to a roadmap developed with the assistance of the World Bank (WB) and International Finance Corporation in 2023, Sri Lanka has good conditions for offshore wind, with most of the more than 50 Gigawatts of potential being held in the western and southern coasts, with a caveat that the roadmap analysis found that not all of this potential will be developed due to practical and cost limitations that are prevailing at present.
According to the World Bank, Sri Lanka’s offshore wind resource far exceeds its energy demand, and its development could help the country’s economic recovery by displacing costly fuel imports. There is an estimated fixed-bottom potential of 22GW and 17GW floating. Most importantly, unlike the on-shore Mannar Wind Farm, this off-shore resource is based in areas without environmental restrictions and exclusion zones. Areas with the highest environmental or social sensitivities have been excluded to avoid unacceptable adverse impacts. Indeed, the World Bank reckons there is huge potential, and it could supply more energy than the country needs – offering an opportunity to produce other fuels, such as hydrogen and ammonia.
However, there are numerous challenges to developing this sector, according to the WB Report. To overcome these challenges, the World Bank Group was assisting the government in planning and implementing de-risking measures, including further site investigations, environmental and social scoping, wind resource assessment, legal and regulatory analysis, further stakeholder consultations, and policy support to make this opportunity more attractive to investors and help to reduce costs.
The World Bank Report further says that considering that the short- and medium-term trajectory for offshore wind in Sri Lanka is relatively modest, combining the opportunity with India’s growing offshore wind market could help attract more industry and supply chain investment. The message given is to partner with India for the development of offshore wind energy generation instead of developing environmentally costly onshore wind farms in Mannar Island.
The energy experts, however, claim that the Mannar Wind Farm Project is a low-hanging fruit the country should pluck. Yet, they do not seem to have given adequate recognition to the environmental costs involved in the same way as in the case of the Sinharaja Logging Project more than 50 years ago. The field of Environmental Economics has advanced substantially over the last several decades. As Chris Goodie, Chairman of the Oriental Bird Club advocates, globally available tools like AVISTEP (The Avian Sensitivity Tool for Energy Planning) need to be used to identify ecologically safe zones for such renewable energy projects.
Moreover, there are widely used open-source environmental economics software packages such as InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs), and they provide an effective tool for balancing the environmental and economic goals of these diverse entities. It enables decision-makers to assess quantified tradeoffs associated with alternative management choices and to identify areas where investment in natural capital can enhance human development and conservation.
It is not clear whether the EIA for this project has meaningfully addressed the environmental cost-benefits issues. If those could be brought into the equation, Sri Lanka would be able to meet its vital energy demand while safeguarding its critical birdlife and, more importantly, without compromising the ecological and economic benefits for the citizens of the country.
Resource Economic Analysis:
Sri Lanka will have to pay way above the market rate for a single unit of energy in US dollars if the permission is granted and the project continues. In Adani Wind Power Project, the energy agreement duration is believed to be 25 years and throughout that period, Sri Lanka will have to pay 4 US cents, as opposed to 2 US cents, which is the market price for a single unit. In a nutshell, for 25 years, Sri Lanka will have to buy power, generated via natural resources of our own, from India for double the price.
This wind power project is an unsolicited one decided according to the whims of politicians probably under duress during the recent health and economic crises. Engineer Pethiyagoda has very eloquently remarked on this issue: ‘We see a foreign company coming to Sri Lanka literally out of the blue, harnessing our wind energy, which is a sovereign national resource, and then selling it back to us for foreign currency over a fixed 25-year contract. How does this make economic sense? If the government called for bids from local companies, Sri Lankan shareholders would have had a chance to invest. That way we don’t bleed foreign currency, and what’s more, there’s tax revenue as well. What is the logic in giving this on a platter to a foreign company?
In that case, let them prove it by actually competing in a transparent bidding process. Besides, even the price they have quoted, USD 0.097 per kilowatt hour, is several times the wind energy price obtained in the USA, according to the US Department of Energy. They are making a massive profit on this, and Sri Lankans will have to foot the bill for the whole of the 25-year contract period.”
While both the conversion to renewable energy and ecological conservation are both important targets to achieve, ultimately the decision would come down to proper weighing of the economic and ecological costs and benefits.
Sri Lankan environmental groups are intensifying their campaign against the proposed Adani wind farm in Mannar. They have accused the Sri Lankan political parties of having ignored the disastrous environmental, social, and economic implications of the Adani wind farm to be established in Mannar.
Mannar Island and its Environs- A ‘Living Entity’ and a Classic Case for Environmental Jurisprudential Analysis?
Many countries the world over are now beginning to confer the status of a legal entity to ‘Mother Nature’ recognising her as a ‘living being’. In that sense, Nature too, has, its own rights comparable to those of human rights. In 2017, the High Court of Uttarakhand at Nainital in India stated that the Ganga and Yamuna Rivers are legal and living persons. In 2019, the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh recognised all rivers in the country as living entities with legal personalities. In Brazil in 2017, the Bonito City Council amended Article 236 of the Lei Orgânica No. 01/2017 to recognize nature’s right to exist, prosper and evolve.
A staff writer of The Hindu newspaper reported in 2022 that Justice S. Srimathy of the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court invoked the ‘parens patriae jurisdiction’ and declared ‘Mother Nature’ as a ‘living being’ having the status of a legal entity. The court observed that ‘Mother Nature’ was accorded rights akin to fundamental rights, legal rights, and constitutional rights for its survival, safety, sustenance, and resurgence to maintain its status and also to promote its health and well-being. The State and Central governments are directed to protect ‘Mother Nature’ and take appropriate steps in this regard in all possible ways.”
The Mannar Island surrounded by several environmentally buffered sanctuaries serves as a strong candidate to be considered as a ‘living entity’ and develop the necessary legal infrastructure for establishing the status of a legal entity in order to confer ‘rights akin to fundamental rights, legal rights, constitutional rights for the survival of the natural wealth of the Mannar Island and its safety, sustenance. As Dr. Jagath Gunawardena points out, there is a clear case for legal action under Section 33 of the National Environment Act. This can be coupled together with a case for a ‘living entity’ taking a cue from other countries including those from India.
It is quite intriguing that on the one hand, Sri Lankan rainforests are among the progenitors from which the vast expanses of Southeast Asian rainforests evolved and diversified. On the other hand, Mannar Island and its surrounding areas have evolved as converging regions of millions of birds of European and Asian continental origin. Thus, both the Sri Lankan rain forests and the Mannar Asian flyway merit to be considered equally as living entities.
Other Successful Public Campaigns on Nationally Important Projects:
In addition to the Sinharaja logging project, I can recall at least two other potentially harmful – (environmentally, socially, and economically) projects where strong and well-substantiated scientific (and strong trade union-) actions prevailed successfully over nationally detrimental projects.
One was the FINNIDA and IDA-funded Forestry Master Plan of 1982. The project proponents eventually yielded to the strong and credible criticisms mounted on this project by the scientific and environmentally conscious community. A public seminar was held to present both for and against viewpoints and the presentations were published in a booklet published by the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society of Sri Lanka in 1988.
The international funders highly sensitive to the rationally presented negative sentiments expressed by the scientists, withdrew the project document and a far more acceptable Forestry Sector Master Plan was published in 1995 with almost 10 years of extensive studies on every conceivable activity related to the forestry sector including the formulation of a revised ‘Forestry Policy’ which is being used even today with its current revision.
The second is yet another low-hanging bitter-sweet fruit like the proposed Mannar Wind farm which was initially agreed by the Sri Lankan Government to hand over the part-completed Eastern Terminal of the Colombo port on a long-term lease to the same Adani Group. This time, the strong trade unions backed by their technocrats swung into action to highlight what Sri Lanka would be losing on this deal and forced the Government to reconsider its former pledge and persuade the Adani group to accept an alternative site – the Western terminal. The economic and social benefits of this project to Sri Lanka are yet to be seen and commented upon by economists.
A Challenge to the Patriotic Citizens, Diasporic Community, and well-wishers of Sri Lanka
As it happened in the case of the Sinharaja Logging Project in early 1977, a plethora of viewpoints both for and against the Mannar Wind Farm Project are peaking at a time when Sri Lankans are at the doorstep of a national election – presidential or otherwise. This provides an excellent platform for both in-country and diasporic technocrats/intelligentsia as well as others who are sympathetic to Sri Lanka’s current crisis and concerned about long-term sustainability to contribute their expert knowledge on this nationally important issue which has the potential to become a political issue in this election year, just like the Sinharaja logging project 50 years ago.
Politicians of different hues and colours could in turn be exhorted to express their standpoints on evidence-based information on this far-reaching issue of national significance preferably circumventing without caving into superpower hegemony. In this regard, the diasporic community in countries where they have had the opportunity to meet their favorite politicians in recent times have a role to advise their masters’ on how to tread on these political landmines. It indeed will help the intelligent voters at home to make their own decisions on the credibility of the Sri Lankan political fraternity.
The patriotic in-country and diasporic community are given a last chance to advise their political masters in this election year, a comparative cost-benefit analysis of the i.) the hastily prepared and inadequately evaluated on-shore economically sweet low-hanging fruit against ii.) a better prepared environmentally-, socially and economically (over the long term) bitter-sweet fruit.
In my layman’s opinion as a renewable energy enthusiast, this merits a rare opportunity for the scientists (environmental- social-politico-legal, etc.) and technocrats interested in seeing Sri Lanka coming out of the woods during this critical period to express their candid views supported by scientific evidence in the form of a pilot study.
Unlike at the time of the Sinharaja Logging Project, there are far more resources available to model different scenarios/trajectories leading up to 2048 – the year that the President of Sri Lanka has targeted for a complete economic recovery.
In the 1970s, the strong public outcries saved the endemic and threatened trees of Sinharaja being made into plywood boxes to export tea. Paper cartons emerged as an excellent alternative source of packaging tea for exports. In the same manner, we hope that the Mannar Island on-shore wind farms will be relocated to environmentally more friendly off-shore and alternative on-shore locations.
The On-shore low-hanging sweet fruit with a bitter seed inside providing only 6% of the country’s energy requirement is to be evaluated against the off-shore resource-based sweeter fruits still ripening in the difficult-to-reach higher branches – so to speak – and most importantly designated to be located in areas without environmental restrictions and exclusion zones with the potential of supplying more energy than the country needs (in addition, offering an opportunity to produce other fuels, such as hydrogen and ammonia) as per World Bank ‘Windfall’ Road Map. This should indeed become an intriguing scientific, socio-economic, and politico-legal battle this year preparing for national elections. (Concluded)
by Dr Gotabhya Ranasinghe
Senior Consultant Cardiologist
National Hospital Sri Lanka
When we sought a meeting with Hon Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Health, he graciously cleared his busy schedule to accommodate us. Renowned for his attentive listening and deep understanding, Minister Pathirana is dedicated to advancing the health sector. His openness and transparency exemplify the qualities of an exemplary politician and minister.
Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the current Health Secretary, demonstrates both commendable enthusiasm and unwavering support. This combination of attributes makes him a highly compatible colleague for the esteemed Minister of Health.
Our discussion centered on a project that has been in the works for the past 30 years, one that no other minister had managed to advance.
Minister Pathirana, however, recognized the project’s significance and its potential to revolutionize care for heart patients.
The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the premises of the National Hospital Colombo. The project’s location within the premises of the National Hospital underscores its importance and relevance to the healthcare infrastructure of the nation.
This facility will include a cardiology building and a tertiary care center, equipped with the latest technology to handle and treat all types of heart-related conditions and surgeries.
Securing funding was a major milestone for this initiative. Minister Pathirana successfully obtained approval for a $40 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. With the funding in place, the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in September this year, and construction will begin in January 2025.
This project guarantees a consistent and uninterrupted supply of stents and related medications for heart patients. As a result, patients will have timely access to essential medical supplies during their treatment and recovery. By securing these critical resources, the project aims to enhance patient outcomes, minimize treatment delays, and maintain the highest standards of cardiac care.
Upon its fruition, this monumental building will serve as a beacon of hope and healing, symbolizing the unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier society.We anticipate a future marked by significant progress and positive outcomes in Sri Lanka’s cardiovascular treatment landscape within the foreseeable timeframe.
by Fr. Emmanuel Fernando, OMI
Jesuit Fr. Aloysius Pieris (affectionately called Fr. Aloy) celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2024 and I, as the editor of our Oblate Journal, THE MISSIONARY OBLATE had gone to press by that time. Immediately I decided to publish an article, appreciating the untiring selfless services he continues to offer for inter-Faith dialogue, the renewal of the Catholic Church, his concern for the poor and the suffering Sri Lankan masses and to me, the present writer.
It was in 1988, when I was appointed Director of the Oblate Scholastics at Ampitiya by the then Oblate Provincial Fr. Anselm Silva, that I came to know Fr. Aloy more closely. Knowing well his expertise in matters spiritual, theological, Indological and pastoral, and with the collaborative spirit of my companion-formators, our Oblate Scholastics were sent to Tulana, the Research and Encounter Centre, Kelaniya, of which he is the Founder-Director, for ‘exposure-programmes’ on matters spiritual, biblical, theological and pastoral. Some of these dimensions according to my view and that of my companion-formators, were not available at the National Seminary, Ampitiya.
Ever since that time, our Oblate formators/ accompaniers at the Oblate Scholasticate, Ampitiya , have continued to send our Oblate Scholastics to Tulana Centre for deepening their insights and convictions regarding matters needed to serve the people in today’s context. Fr. Aloy also had tried very enthusiastically with the Oblate team headed by Frs. Oswald Firth and Clement Waidyasekara to begin a Theologate, directed by the Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka, for the contextual formation/ accompaniment of their members. It should very well be a desired goal of the Leaders / Provincials of the Religious Congregations.
Besides being a formator/accompanier at the Oblate Scholasticate, I was entrusted also with the task of editing and publishing our Oblate journal, ‘The Missionary Oblate’. To maintain the quality of the journal I continue to depend on Fr. Aloy for his thought-provoking and stimulating articles on Biblical Spirituality, Biblical Theology and Ecclesiology. I am very grateful to him for his generous assistance. Of late, his writings on renewal of the Church, initiated by Pope St. John XX111 and continued by Pope Francis through the Synodal path, published in our Oblate journal, enable our readers to focus their attention also on the needed renewal in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Aloy appreciated very much the Synodal path adopted by the Jesuit Pope Francis for the renewal of the Church, rooted very much on prayerful discernment. In my Religious and presbyteral life, Fr.Aloy continues to be my spiritual animator / guide and ongoing formator / acccompanier.
Fr. Aloysius Pieris, BA Hons (Lond), LPh (SHC, India), STL (PFT, Naples), PhD (SLU/VC), ThD (Tilburg), D.Ltt (KU), has been one of the eminent Asian theologians well recognized internationally and one who has lectured and held visiting chairs in many universities both in the West and in the East. Many members of Religious Congregations from Asian countries have benefited from his lectures and guidance in the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Manila, Philippines. He had been a Theologian consulted by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences for many years. During his professorship at the Gregorian University in Rome, he was called to be a member of a special group of advisers on other religions consulted by Pope Paul VI.
Fr. Aloy is the author of more than 30 books and well over 500 Research Papers. Some of his books and articles have been translated and published in several countries. Among those books, one can find the following: 1) The Genesis of an Asian Theology of Liberation (An Autobiographical Excursus on the Art of Theologising in Asia, 2) An Asian Theology of Liberation, 3) Providential Timeliness of Vatican 11 (a long-overdue halt to a scandalous millennium, 4) Give Vatican 11 a chance, 5) Leadership in the Church, 6) Relishing our faith in working for justice (Themes for study and discussion), 7) A Message meant mainly, not exclusively for Jesuits (Background information necessary for helping Francis renew the Church), 8) Lent in Lanka (Reflections and Resolutions, 9) Love meets wisdom (A Christian Experience of Buddhism, 10) Fire and Water 11) God’s Reign for God’s poor, 12) Our Unhiddden Agenda (How we Jesuits work, pray and form our men). He is also the Editor of two journals, Vagdevi, Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue, New Series.
Fr. Aloy has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London and a Ph.D in Buddhist Philosophy from the University of Sri Lankan, Vidyodaya Campus. On Nov. 23, 2019, he was awarded the prestigious honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, the Most Venerable Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Thera.
Fr. Aloy continues to be a promoter of Gospel values and virtues. Justice as a constitutive dimension of love and social concern for the downtrodden masses are very much noted in his life and work. He had very much appreciated the commitment of the late Fr. Joseph (Joe) Fernando, the National Director of the Social and Economic Centre (SEDEC) for the poor.
In Sri Lanka, a few religious Congregations – the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Oblates – have invited him to animate their members especially during their Provincial Congresses, Chapters and International Conferences. The mainline Christian Churches also have sought his advice and followed his seminars. I, for one, regret very much, that the Sri Lankan authorities of the Catholic Church –today’s Hierarchy—- have not sought Fr.
Aloy’s expertise for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and thus have not benefited from the immense store of wisdom and insight that he can offer to our local Church while the Sri Lankan bishops who governed the Catholic church in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (Edmund Fernando OMI, Anthony de Saram, Leo Nanayakkara OSB, Frank Marcus Fernando, Paul Perera,) visited him and consulted him on many matters. Among the Tamil Bishops, Bishop Rayappu Joseph was keeping close contact with him and Bishop J. Deogupillai hosted him and his team visiting him after the horrible Black July massacre of Tamils.
Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
By Gomi Senadhira
senadhiragomi@gmail.com
“You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the ultimate result of this is the country becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet.” – President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 2024 Budget speech
Any Sri Lankan would agree with the above words of President Wickremesinghe on the false promises our politicians and officials make and the fairy tales they narrate which bankrupted this country. So, to understand this, let’s look at one such fairy tale with lots of false promises; Ranil Wickremesinghe’s greatest achievement in the area of international trade and investment promotion during the Yahapalana period, Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA).
It is appropriate and timely to do it now as Finance Minister Wickremesinghe has just presented to parliament a bill on the National Policy on Economic Transformation which includes the establishment of an Office for International Trade and the Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade.
Was SLSFTA a “Cleverly negotiated Free Trade Agreement” as stated by the (former) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate on the SLSFTA in July 2018, or a colossal blunder covered up with lies, false promises, and fairy tales? After SLSFTA was signed there were a number of fairy tales published on this agreement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International, Institute of Policy Studies, and others.
However, for this article, I would like to limit my comments to the speech by Minister Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate, and the two most important areas in the agreement which were covered up with lies, fairy tales, and false promises, namely: revenue loss for Sri Lanka and Investment from Singapore. On the other important area, “Waste products dumping” I do not want to comment here as I have written extensively on the issue.
1. The revenue loss
During the Parliamentary Debate in July 2018, Minister Samarawickrama stated “…. let me reiterate that this FTA with Singapore has been very cleverly negotiated by us…. The liberalisation programme under this FTA has been carefully designed to have the least impact on domestic industry and revenue collection. We have included all revenue sensitive items in the negative list of items which will not be subject to removal of tariff. Therefore, 97.8% revenue from Customs duty is protected. Our tariff liberalisation will take place over a period of 12-15 years! In fact, the revenue earned through tariffs on goods imported from Singapore last year was Rs. 35 billion.
The revenue loss for over the next 15 years due to the FTA is only Rs. 733 million– which when annualised, on average, is just Rs. 51 million. That is just 0.14% per year! So anyone who claims the Singapore FTA causes revenue loss to the Government cannot do basic arithmetic! Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I call on my fellow members of this House – don’t mislead the public with baseless criticism that is not grounded in facts. Don’t look at petty politics and use these issues for your own political survival.”
I was surprised to read the minister’s speech because an article published in January 2018 in “The Straits Times“, based on information released by the Singaporean Negotiators stated, “…. With the FTA, tariff savings for Singapore exports are estimated to hit $10 million annually“.
As the annual tariff savings (that is the revenue loss for Sri Lanka) calculated by the Singaporean Negotiators, Singaporean $ 10 million (Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 million in 2018) was way above the rupees’ 733 million revenue loss for 15 years estimated by the Sri Lankan negotiators, it was clear to any observer that one of the parties to the agreement had not done the basic arithmetic!
Six years later, according to a report published by “The Morning” newspaper, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 7th May 2024, Mr Samarawickrama’s chief trade negotiator K.J. Weerasinghehad had admitted “…. that forecasted revenue loss for the Government of Sri Lanka through the Singapore FTA is Rs. 450 million in 2023 and Rs. 1.3 billion in 2024.”
If these numbers are correct, as tariff liberalisation under the SLSFTA has just started, we will pass Rs 2 billion very soon. Then, the question is how Sri Lanka’s trade negotiators made such a colossal blunder. Didn’t they do their basic arithmetic? If they didn’t know how to do basic arithmetic they should have at least done their basic readings. For example, the headline of the article published in The Straits Times in January 2018 was “Singapore, Sri Lanka sign FTA, annual savings of $10m expected”.
Anyway, as Sri Lanka’s chief negotiator reiterated at the COPF meeting that “…. since 99% of the tariffs in Singapore have zero rates of duty, Sri Lanka has agreed on 80% tariff liberalisation over a period of 15 years while expecting Singapore investments to address the imbalance in trade,” let’s turn towards investment.
Investment from Singapore
In July 2018, speaking during the Parliamentary Debate on the FTA this is what Minister Malik Samarawickrama stated on investment from Singapore, “Already, thanks to this FTA, in just the past two-and-a-half months since the agreement came into effect we have received a proposal from Singapore for investment amounting to $ 14.8 billion in an oil refinery for export of petroleum products. In addition, we have proposals for a steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million), sugar refinery ($ 200 million). This adds up to more than $ 16.05 billion in the pipeline on these projects alone.
And all of these projects will create thousands of more jobs for our people. In principle approval has already been granted by the BOI and the investors are awaiting the release of land the environmental approvals to commence the project.
I request the Opposition and those with vested interests to change their narrow-minded thinking and join us to develop our country. We must always look at what is best for the whole community, not just the few who may oppose. We owe it to our people to courageously take decisions that will change their lives for the better.”
According to the media report I quoted earlier, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chief Negotiator Weerasinghe has admitted that Sri Lanka was not happy with overall Singapore investments that have come in the past few years in return for the trade liberalisation under the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. He has added that between 2021 and 2023 the total investment from Singapore had been around $162 million!
What happened to those projects worth $16 billion negotiated, thanks to the SLSFTA, in just the two-and-a-half months after the agreement came into effect and approved by the BOI? I do not know about the steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million) and sugar refinery ($ 200 million).
However, story of the multibillion-dollar investment in the Petroleum Refinery unfolded in a manner that would qualify it as the best fairy tale with false promises presented by our politicians and the officials, prior to 2019 elections.
Though many Sri Lankans got to know, through the media which repeatedly highlighted a plethora of issues surrounding the project and the questionable credentials of the Singaporean investor, the construction work on the Mirrijiwela Oil Refinery along with the cement factory began on the24th of March 2019 with a bang and Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his ministers along with the foreign and local dignitaries laid the foundation stones.
That was few months before the 2019 Presidential elections. Inaugurating the construction work Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the projects will create thousands of job opportunities in the area and surrounding districts.
The oil refinery, which was to be built over 200 acres of land, with the capacity to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was to generate US$7 billion of exports and create 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The construction of the refinery was to be completed in 44 months. Four years later, in August 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the agreement with the investors of the refinery as the project has not been implemented! Can they explain to the country how much money was wasted to produce that fairy tale?
It is obvious that the President, ministers, and officials had made huge blunders and had deliberately misled the public and the parliament on the revenue loss and potential investment from SLSFTA with fairy tales and false promises.
As the president himself said, a country cannot be developed by making false promises or with fairy tales and these false promises and fairy tales had bankrupted the country. “Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet”.
(The writer, a specialist and an activist on trade and development issues . )
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