Indian power project replaces Chinese venture in Sri Lanka’s northern islands

New Delhi had earlier objected to Chinese projects there, citing security concerns about their proximity to south Indian coast 

 India will set up hybrid power projects in three Islands off Jaffna, effectively replacing the Chinese venture cleared by Colombo last year.  

The MoU for the project was among those signed during a meeting between visiting External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar and his Sri Lankan counterpart G.L. Peiris late on Monday. It is the third Indian energy project coming up in Sri Lanka’s north and east, after the recent agreements for National Thermal Power Corporation’s solar venture in the eastern Sampur town, and the Adani Group’s renewable energy projects in Mannar and Pooneryn in the north.

In January 2021, Sri Lanka’s Cabinet decided to award renewable energy projects in Nainativu , Delft or Neduntheevu , and Analaitivu islands to Chinese company Sinosoar-Etechwin, following an Asia Development Bank-backed competitive bid. India was quick to express concern to the Sri Lankan side over the Chinese project coming up in the Palk Bay, barely 50 km off Tamil Nadu. New Delhi offered to execute the same project with a grant rather than a loan. Unable to pick a side for over a year, Colombo kept the project in suspension, apparently putting off China.  In a recent press briefing, the Chinese Ambassador in Colombo voiced rare criticism over the projects being interrupted for “unknown reasons”, and said it sent out the wrong message to potential foreign investors.  

Meanwhile, India and Sri Lanka have also agreed to set up a Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC), signalling greater defence sector collaboration between the neighbours. The initiative, involving Bharath Electronics and a $ 6 million Indian grant, obtained Cabinet approval last week. India will also help develop fisheries harbours in Point Pedro, Pesalai, and Gurunagar in the Northern Province, and Balapitiya, south of capital Colombo, in addition to supporting schools in the southern Galle district with computer labs and smart boards, and collaborating in diplomatic training, a statement said.

On developments in regard to Sri Lanka’s long-pending Tamil question, India has welcomed the recent talks between President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the largest grouping of legislators elected from the north and east.

Also read: Sri Lanka’s Tamil MPs seek PM Modi’s intervention on political solution

In a separate statement issued hours after Mr. Jaishankar’s meeting with a TNA delegation on Monday, the Indian High Commission said the Tamil leaders briefed the visiting EAM about their meeting with Mr. Rajapaksa on March 25. “They conveyed that the issues of release of political prisoners, land utilisation, missing persons, 13th Amendment implementation and diaspora investment were discussed in the meeting,” the statement said.