Govt. to go ahead with fourth coal plant at Norochcholai once EIA is ready

By Ifham Nizam

The government would go ahead with the fourth power plant at the Norochcholai coal power complex, as soon as the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was completed, Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) Chairman Vijitha Herath said yesterday.

Herath told The Island that the Cabinet had already endorsed the plant’s fourth unit although the Attorney General’s Department and the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) were still studying the proposal.

The EIA is be conducted by the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) following a request from the CEB. The China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC), which would construct the fourth plant but not be involved in the EIA process, Herath said.