The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a group of energy procurement contracts covering coal for the Norochcholai power station, long-term fuel supplies for the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation and the construction of three new storage tanks at the Muthurajawela terminal.

Coal split between two suppliers

Cabinet approved the purchase of 2.28 million metric tonnes of coal, with a 10% variation either way, for the Lakvijaya Power Plant at Norochcholai for the 2026/2027 period. That quantity was set at a Cabinet meeting on March 30.

Two suppliers were selected for each shipment rather than one, a step the government said was intended to reduce the risk of supply disruption and protect energy security. Nine bids were received under international competitive bidding.

Aditya Birla Global Trading (Singapore) Pte Ltd was awarded 70% of the requirement, or 1.596 million tonnes, with Mohit Minerals Limited of India taking the remaining 30%, or 684,000 tonnes.

Petrol, diesel and crude

Separately, Cabinet approved long-term contracts for the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation to buy Petrol 92 Unl, Murban crude oil and diesel with 0.05% sulphur. The awards followed limited international competitive bidding among CPC-registered suppliers and went to the lowest substantially responsive bidders.

Aditya Birla Global Trading took both the petrol contract — 1.2 million barrels between September 1 and February 28 — and a Murban crude contract of 2.8 million barrels running from November 1 to February 28. Four bids were received for each.

Vitol Asia Pte Ltd of Singapore won the diesel contract for 1.12 million barrels over the same September-to-February window, from six bids.

Three tanks at Muthurajawela

Cabinet also awarded the contract for three new fuel storage tanks at Muthurajawela — two of 15,000 cubic metres and one of 10,000 — to a joint venture of Indo-East Engineering & Construction (Lanka) (Pvt) Ltd and Ceylex Engineering (Pvt) Ltd, the lowest bidder under international competitive bidding. The contract is worth US$3.04 million plus Rs 2,796.14 million excluding VAT, and is funded by Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Ltd.

The project was first approved in June 2025. In July this year Cabinet asked the energy and environment ministers to settle its environmental and legal requirements before the award.

“The recommendations and conditions prescribed by the Central Environmental Authority have been incorporated into the contract agreement for the procurement,” Cabinet spokesman Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said. The Daily Mirror reported the work would also follow the Wildlife and Plant Protection Ordinance.

The three tanks add 40,000 cubic metres of capacity. They are a separate decision from the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation’s own announcement in July of plans to build seven new oil tanks at Muthurajawela, four of them for aviation fuel, together with pipelines to Katunayake and Kolonnawa.

Sources