Did the Deputy Minister Say the Norochcholai Power Plant’s Location Was the Reason Behind Bringing in Inferior Coal?

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“Inferior coal” has become a widely discussed topic in the country recently, drawing attention from political platforms and the general public. Various posts related to this issue are being shared on social media, including several false or misleading claims.

Here is a fact check we conducted regarding one such misleading social media post, which claims that Deputy Minister of Power and Energy Arkam Ilyas made a particular statement.

Social Media Posts:

A photo showing the President, Deputy Minister Akram Ilyas, and Minister Kumara Jayakody has been shared on social media with a caption that says, “Deputy Minister Akram Ilyas, the mastermind who found that the reason for importing inferior coal to Sri Lanka was a mistake in the location where the Norochcholai power plant was built, was warmly praised by Anura.”

Through this post, it is claimed that the reason for importing inferior coal to Sri Lanka is a mistake in the location where the Norochcholai power plant was built.

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Social media has also shared the claim that inferior coal is being imported to Sri Lanka due to a mistake in the location of the Norochcholai power plant.

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Accordingly, we carried out a fact check to verify this claim that is widely circulating on social media.

Fact Check:

With the ongoing public discussion about inferior coal, we checked whether the Deputy Minister of Power and Energy had made the statement circulating on social media about the Norochcholai power plant.

We found that the Deputy Minister appeared on the “Wada Pitiya” program on Derana TV on February 24, where he shared his views on the power plant.

He clarified that the location of the plant does not allow for year-round coal delivery. As a result, coal shipments to Sri Lanka have to be carefully scheduled to avoid the rough sea season.

Question: When the 8th shipment faces complaints of low quality, the 9th shipment is still brought in. And when there are complaints about the 9th, the 10th shipment is also delivered.

Deputy Minister’s response: There is no proper port at the location where the Norochcholai power plant was built. Only a small loading area is available, and that limits how coal can be brought in. The main issue is that the rough sea season limits coal shipments.

We can bring in a maximum of 38–40 ships at a time, scheduled over five days, and it takes about two weeks for the coal to reach Sri Lanka from the port. If there is a delay in the schedule, we cannot bring in the required number of ships on time.

However, at no point during the programme did the Deputy Minister say that the coal problem was caused by a mistake in the location of the power plant.

On February 26, during the “Rathu Ira” political program, the host asked about the claim that the Deputy Minister had said the construction of the Norochcholai power plant was a mistake. The Deputy Minister responded by clarifying the matter as follows.

Deputy Minister of Power and Energy, Akram Ilyas

We contacted Deputy Minister Akram Ilyas by phone to ask about the posts circulating on social media.

The Deputy Minister stated that he had never said there was a connection between the quality of coal and the location of the power plant, as suggested in those posts.

He clarified that loading coal shipments at that location is only possible until April, before the onset of the rough sea season.

He further noted that if the power plant had been built at a deeper site with a proper port, there would have been no such issues. Having such a location would allow coal to be delivered at any time of the year, take advantage of lower prices during periods of high demand, and manage other logistical factors more easily. For these reasons, he suggested that a different location would have been better than the current site at Norochcholai.

Allegations and Government Response on Coal Imports

On January 7, opposition MP D.V. Chanaka claimed in Parliament that the government had imported inferior coal. He said coal tenders were not called on time and that there were irregularities in the process.

The plant tested the first shipment of coal from South Africa to the Norochcholai Lakvijaya Power Plant. The tests confirmed the coal had a lower calorific value and burned as low-quality coal.

The minister said that, to meet demand, six more shipments would be needed, which would cost extra.

Power Minister Kumar Jayakody responded to social media claims about inferior coal. He said the first shipment followed port rules in South Africa and was properly loaded.

After unloading, 80% of the payment is made if the condition report matches. Some payments are still pending due to minor paperwork issues, which may include missing signatures or incomplete documentation that need to be resolved before finalising the transactions. Final payments are made only after the Ceylon Electricity Board confirms the shipment’s condition. If there are discrepancies between the quality reports from the loading port and the unloading port, fines are applied.

The minister added that a preliminary test at the Lakvijaya plant showed lower calorific values, but the lab was not officially certified, so the results could not be fully matched with the supplier’s certificate.

Finally, in his statement in Parliament, he continued by saying that any remaining stock from previous orders will be inspected before use for energy production.

Various parties allege that coal imported into the country is inferior in quality.

Meanwhile, the Anti-Corruption Committee of Samagi Jana Balawegaya filed a complaint to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption regarding the tender, alleging fraud in the import of low-quality coal.

The complaint states that sending inferior coal and failing to deliver it on time is enough to cancel the contract. Samagi Jana Balawegaya MP S.M. Marikkar claims that importing inferior coal has caused a loss of around 1,800 million LKR to the public. Meanwhile, former minister Patali Champika Ranawaka says that at least 9 to 10 ships were used to generate power. He further stated that the Cotecna company could face future legal action for document falsification.

Meanwhile, former minister Patali Champika Ranawaka filed a complaint with the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption on February 18, claiming a large-scale fraud had occurred in the coal procurement process. He is now informing political leaders about this alleged fraud. You can find more details here, here, and here.

At the same time, the former minister noted on his account that the former chairman of the Lanka Coal Company had resigned in this way. According to him, the resignation letter had been received, and the coal tender process regarding the import of inferior-quality coal was carried out with the administrative involvement of the Secretary to the Ministry of Energy (Power), as mentioned in the letter.

Possible losses from coal

On February 13, the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Infrastructure and Strategic Development met to discuss coal imported for the Norochcholai Lakvijaya power plant. Officials from the Ceylon Electricity Board, the Public Utilities Commission, and the Lanka Coal Company attended. The leader of the opposition said that all five ships sent to Norochcholai contained inferior coal.

On February 19, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) sent a letter to the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Infrastructure and Strategic Development. The letter showed the estimated losses from electricity generation using coal imported on eight ships, with the losses for each ship listed separately. Mainstream media reported this, as shown here and here. Meanwhile, Opposition MP S.M. Marikkar held a press meeting and said that, according to the subcommittee’s report, all eight coal ships did not meet the required standards, causing estimated losses of over Rs. 7,600 million.

Following this, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa declared in Parliament on February 20 that a formal investigation was necessary. Along with MPs S.M. Marikkar and D.V. Chanaka, Premadasa claimed that a coal scam had occurred. The responsible minister also commented on the matter that day in this way.

According to the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Infrastructure and Strategic Development’s order, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) has now started a formal investigation, as reported by the media in this way.

Current status of the coal issue – Deputy Minister Arkam Ilyas

We also questioned Deputy Minister Arkam Ilyas about the current situation regarding the coal issue.

The Deputy Minister stated that, according to the coal tender, all imported ships met the standard of over 5,900 kilocalories at the port. For the first ship, the calorific value was below 5,900, so a penalty was applied.

The next six ships had acceptable calorific values between 5,900 and 6,110 kcal, though the plant engineers noted minor performance issues while burning this coal, which could potentially affect the overall efficiency of the plant’s operations. To verify everything, a special committee of university experts has been appointed. The committee has a month to submit its report, and if they uncover any fraud, it will forward the case to the Criminal Investigation Department.

The Deputy Minister also clarified that the supplier does not get to choose the testing lab alone; both sides agree on the lab. From the 13th ship onwards, port samples are being sent to another lab for further verification. If the calorific value exceeds 5,900 kcal, the coal is accepted according to the contract.

He added that questions like “Did the sample tests fail?” or “Did the plant performance drop?” cannot be answered without proper investigation.

Cabinet spokesperson clarification

Minister Nalinda Jayatissa, the spokesperson, addressed the coal situation during a Cabinet media briefing on February 24. He said that although previous coal imports had issues related to the tender, this time all procedures, supplier selection, timelines, and appeals were followed correctly.

Regarding criticism of the Minister of Electricity, the spokesperson said there was time to submit any complaints, but no party did so. He clarified that the government does not intend to disadvantage the public and will responsibly address any issues.

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Conclusion:

Our investigation shows that Deputy Minister of Power and Energy, Arkam Ilyas, did not say that the construction site of the Norochcholai power plant was the reason for importing substandard coal to Sri Lanka. However, clips of his comments from a TV programme have been misleadingly shared on social media.

The issue of importing inferior coal remains a major topic of public discussion, and investigations are still ongoing.