Coal shipments assured before April 30

By Chaminda Silva

Thirty three ships carrying coal would arrive in Sri Lanka by April 30 and stocks needed for Norochcholai Coal Power Plant (NCPP) would be provided continuously, Chairman/MD- Lanka Coal Company Shehan Sumanasekara told The Island.

“We have coal for two generators and a ship carrying 60,000 tonnes of coal is arriving on 04 January. These two generators need 5,000 tonnes of coal a day. When the ship comes, we will be unloading 12,000 tonnes of coal a day,” he said.

A ship carrying coal usually has 60,000 tonnes and takes about five days to unload.

“Three more ships are coming on 10, 14 and 16 Jan. The ship that is to arrive on 10 Jan., is already on its way from South Africa. One generator at the plant has been shut down for repairs. We need 33 ships before the seas get too rough to unload coal. We are sure that all 33 ships will arrive before 20 April,” he said.

Given that it takes five days to unload a ship, it will take 165 days to unload 33 ships. There are only about 120 days from this week to 20 April.