ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has suspended work on two wind power plants in the Mannar area for a month to solve issue brought by the local community, his office said.
“It was decided to develop a framework to identify and resolve the issues faced by local communities due to the wind power plant,” a statement from the President’s media office said.
“It was also agreed to temporarily suspend the construction of the two wind power plants, one of 20 MW already underway and another of 50 MW proposed, despite tenders being called and contracts awarded.”
Community representatives from Mannar, including religious leaders had raised concerns about environmental damage and impacts on residents from both the ilmenite mining project and the wind power project at meeting on August 13.
President Dissanayake said the projects would not proceed without the approval of the Central Environmental Authority’s assessment reports.
However he was told that there was a “failure to properly implement the environmental reports and recommendations.”
“The President stated that the project would be postponed for one month in order to study the issues faced by the people of the Mannar area,” the statement said.
“It was decided to develop a framework to identify and resolve the issues faced by local communities due to the wind power plant.”
The President had pointed out that energy is a national resource, not limited to one region and that electricity costs affect not only household bills but also the cost of production, foreign investment and the entire economy.
The government wad always prepared to engage in discussions about the project’s impact on people’s livelihoods, the economy and daily life, also to address public concerns.
The President had pointed out that further delays in development projects would mean missing opportunities to uplift the national economy. (Colombo/Aug14/2025)
