Sri Lanka working with China to clear coal plant hitches

Sept 12, 2012 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's state-run Ceylon Electricity Board and a Chinese contractor is working to rectify problems with the island's first coal power plant and changes will be made to two others that have not yet been finished, officials said.





He said Chinese and Sri Lankan engineers had come up with reports suggesting changes to the other two plants to incorporate lessons learnt with the first plants.

No cost estimates for the changes were disclosed.

"We are working with CEB engineers to bring the plant to normal operations," Wang Lu Dong, chief engineer of CMEC said.

"We will work together on commercial or technical issues.

If we work together we can solve these problems.

"

The coal plant is still within a two year 'defect notification period' which ends in July 2013.

"This plant is still not finished," minister Ranawaka said.

The plant's designer Zhao Wenxue, from China's Northwest Electric Design Institute said in a statement last month said frequent shutdowns and lack of annual maintenance had contributed to the shutdowns.

He said some repairs should be made while the plant was operating.

CEB officials said and procedures were also developed to safely shut down the plant.

The coal had operated wi