{"id":17543,"date":"2026-03-06T11:26:50","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T11:26:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/?p=17543"},"modified":"2026-03-07T03:32:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T03:32:11","slug":"misleading-narrative-on-a-statement-by-deputy-minister-on-norochcholai-plant-location","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/misleading-narrative-on-a-statement-by-deputy-minister-on-norochcholai-plant-location\/","title":{"rendered":"Did the Deputy Minister Say the Norochcholai Power Plant’s Location Was the Reason Behind Bringing in Inferior Coal?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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\u201cInferior coal\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social Media Posts:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

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.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Accordingly, we carried out a fact check to verify this claim that is widely circulating on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fact Check:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We found that the Deputy Minister appeared on the \u201cWada Pitiya\u201d program on Derana TV on February 24, where he shared his views on the power plant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Question:<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deputy Minister\u2019s response<\/strong>: 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can bring in a maximum of 38\u201340 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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