Colombo: The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a Marxist political party in Sri Lanka, announced on Monday that it would cancel the Adani Group's wind power project if its candidate, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, wins the upcoming presidential election on September 21.
Dissanayake, the presidential nominee from the National People's Power (NPP) coalition, expressed his firm opposition to the project, citing concerns over energy sector sovereignty.
In a recent political talk show, Dissanayake emphasized the potential threat posed by the project to the nation's control over its energy resources. "Yes, we will definitely cancel it as it threatens our energy sovereignty," he stated when asked about the project's implications.
The JVP, historically known for leading an anti-India uprising from 1987 to 1990, has a critical stance on the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord, which was signed between former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President JR Jayewardene. The party has long regarded the accord as a betrayal of the nation's interests.
The Adani Group's wind power project, planned for Sri Lanka's northeastern regions of Mannar and Pooneryn, has been the subject of legal challenges in the country's Supreme Court. The company was set to invest over USD 440 million to generate 484 megawatts of wind energy under a 20-year agreement. However, petitioners have raised environmental concerns and criticized the transparency of the bidding process.
Critics have also argued that the agreed tariff of USD 0.0826 per kWh would be financially detrimental to Sri Lanka, urging the rate to Y J, wered to USD 0.005 per kWh. The future of the project now hangs in the balance, depending on the outcome of the upcoming election.
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