22 January, 2023
The Finance Ministry is reported to be striving to procure the Rs.55 billion needed to purchase coal, Ministry sources said.
Presidential Secretary Saman Ekanayake and Finance Ministry Secretary Mahinda Siriwardena have intervened to find Rs.20 billion and discussions have begun to secure the balance Rs.35 billion.
If coal is not imported before the first week of February, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) will have to impose six- hour daily power cuts that will last at least until September 2023, the sources said. Coal has to be unloaded in Puttalam before the seas get rough. Otherwise, it will be impossible to unload coal in Puttalam.
The Finance Ministry has detailed these factors in a report submitted recently to the Supreme Court.