SRI LANKA Colombo seeks partners for its first nuclear power plant

Contacts have already begun with the IAEA to define the standards and criteria for choosing the site. The Russian Rosatom – which is already present in Bangladesh and India – is in the front row, but Chinese technicians and other giants in the sector are also expected in the country. The question of financing in a country that is still mired in a serious economic crisis.

Colombo () – The Sri Lankan government is drafting legislation to regulate nuclear energy production and the Sri Lanka Atomic Energy Board (SLAEB) is preparing to request an expression of interest from potential investors. It is expected that a delegation from the China National Nuclear Corporation (C) will soon evaluate the possibility of investing in a nuclear power plant in the country. The Russian Rosatom, the French Électricité de France (EDF) and the Danish Seaborg have also submitted proposals for the production of nuclear energy in the country, while the American Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC) and the Canadian Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd ( AECL ) have expressed interest in investing in Sri Lanka.

To reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the government has decided to include nuclear energy in its energy mix. A team of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has already carried out its own mission to verify the safety of the selection process to identify potential sites for the construction of Sri Lanka’s first nuclear power plant. Meanwhile, last week a team of legal experts left Colombo for Vienna, where the IAEA is based, to discuss the rules that will regulate nuclear energy production in the country.

Russia already plays an important role in nuclear energy production in Bangladesh and India: the Kudankulam plant in Tamil Nadu, India, is located just 207 kilometers from Kalpitiya in the northwestern province of Sri Lanka. The Russian agency Rosatom has shown growing interest in the construction of a nuclear power plant in Sri Lanka and a high-level delegation has already held talks on the matter.

Nilanthi Kolonne and Shirantha Jayasekera, university engineering professors, explain to that Russia has offered assistance in terms of capacity building and training of Sri Lankan personnel in the nuclear sector. The proposal includes the installation of small modular reactors (SMR), of new design and with the capacity to produce up to 300 MW of electricity per unit. However, the financing model for the project, which is estimated to exceed $2 billion, has not yet been discussed.

SLAEB Chairman SRD Rosa briefed the Russian delegation on the current status of the proposed offshore or land-based nuclear power plant in Sri Lanka, which has not yet received final approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Realization is dependent on the signing of an Agreement between the Governments (IGA) of Sri Lanka and Russia, which is still pending and requires a change in current legislation. “We cannot expect the cost of nuclear energy to be lower than that of hydroelectric energy: it will be halfway between the costs of thermal energy and those of hydroelectric energy.”

For its part, the SLAEB has inspected the nuclear power plants that the Russians have built in Bangladesh and the unit price for energy production is around 27-30 Sri Lankan rupees, a cheaper option than current sources. However, the problem is the lack of funds, since the average time required to build a nuclear power plant is between 5 and 8 years and the cost ranges between 2 and 5 billion dollars. That is why the government is looking for investors to carry out the project.

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