Infra Setbacks Under New Regimes

DEALS THAT WENT WRONG

- Gurbir Singh

DANI Green Energy's withdrawal from its wind power project from Sri Lanka follows months of stout opposition by local communities. The exit was also fueled by the new left-leaning government of Anura Kumara Dissanayake's unhappiness with the deal. While most companies face reviews of their projects, the Sri Lankan rebuff comes as a reminder that most Adani offshore forays have seen controversy and push backs because they have sought to impose onerous terms.

While an Adani group statement calls it a 'withdrawal', the fact is the Sri Lankan government cancelled the deal. The wind power project, signed in May 2024 by former president Ranil Wickremesinghe's government, was slated to generate 484 MW for the coastal belt of Mannar and Pooneryn. However, it was found the power purchase rate of $0.0826 Kwh was far higher than offered by local companies.

The ongoing skirmish between Adani Power and the state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) for the supply of power from the former's Jharkhand plant has followed a similar trajectory. A contract was signed in 2017 between the former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Adani Power to supply 800 MW of power generated for Bangladesh by the Godda plant in Jharkhand.