Adani Group's wind power plants in Sri Lanka under government review

The Sri Lankan Ministry of Power and Energy has announced plans to establish a committee to review and study the Adani Group's projects within the country. The proposal for this committee is scheduled to be presented at the upcoming cabinet meeting, as reported by Newsfirst.

The review will encompass various factors, including the estimated costs associated with Adani’s projects. This initiative follows a previous decision by the Sri Lankan government to form a separate committee to assess the wind power plant projects proposed by the Adani Group in Mannar and Pooneryn. These wind power plants are anticipated to produce a combined output of 484 megawatts of electricity.

In a related development, the Adani Group withdrew from a $553 million loan agreement with the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) in December last year. The loan was intended to fund a port terminal project in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. This withdrawal came amidst allegations of bribery involving Adani and other executives of the group, which were recently brought to light in US courts.

The accusations claim that Adani paid over $250 million in bribes to Indian officials to secure solar energy contracts. The Adani Group has denied these allegations and expressed its intent to contest them in court. These charges have compounded the conglomerate’s difficulties, which include Kenya’s cancellation of $2.6 billion worth of infrastructure contracts and financial hurdles in other ongoing projects.

As Sri Lanka continues to scrutinize Adani’s involvement, the forthcoming review by the newly proposed committee is expected to shed light on the viability and integrity of the group’s projects in the island nation.