By Ranjan Perera
They say, Beggars can’t be choosers. This is perfectly true for Sri Lanka as it has got no option to go against the wishes of the Indian Government under the guidance of the Indian P.M. Narendra Modi as the whole country has been struggling to come out of the unending queues, price hikes. Frequent protests and unstable political progress. The latest controversy pertaining to the alleged improper awarding of the two massive solar power energy projects to the Adani Green Energy Ltd was news for a short time. Then it was strangely denied by the former Chairman, of the Electricity Board himself. Interestingly, at the COPE, meeting he pointed out that there was undue pressure from the Indian top level to get the solar power projects in favour of Indian Adani Group. This made the former Chairman of the CEB, (Ceylon Electricity Board) become the cynosure of the media as the Adani Green Energy Ltd, was the talk of the town in Sri Lanka and India. However, President Gothabaya Rajapaksa categorically denied the so called fact revealed by Mr. M.M.C. Ferdinando. Later on the former Chairman Mr. Ferdinand withdrew his statement showing emotions as the reason for this wrong statement. Hopefully Adani Green Energy Ltd. is given the green light to actively get engaged in two massive solar power projects in two important spots, Mannar and Pooneren in the Northern part of Sri Lanka. Of course, these two renewable energy projects, involving the Adani Group, are aimed at generating combined capacity of 500 MW, at a cost of $ 500 million. Both projects are in the Northern Province, where New Delhi objected to a Chinese energy project last year, citing proximity to the Tamil Nadu coast.
Who is Mr. Adani?
Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) is an Indian renewable energy company headquartered in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. It is owned by Indian conglomerate Adani Group. The company operates Kamuthi Solar Power Project, one of the largest solar photovoltaic plants in the world’.
The Founder and the Chairman of the Adani Group is Mr. Gautam Shantilal Adani (born 24th June 1962) is an Indian billionaire industrialist and importantly philanthropist. He is the Guide and Power behind the Adani Group, an Ahmedabad based multinational conglomerate involved in port development and operations in India that grabbed a huge project in the Colombo Harbour that is the money spinner for Sri Lanka. To be precise, On September 30, 2021, the Gujarat-headquartered Adani Group signed a Build Operate Transfer (BOT) agreement with Sri Lanka’s largest listed company John Keels Holdings and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) to jointly develop the Colombo West International Container Terminal (CWICT) at the strategically advantaged Colombo Port, located amidst one of the busiest shipping routes in the world.