1. Profile

(1) Project site:

The project is located on Kalpitiya Peninsula at the northwest coast of Sri Lanka, between Erkkiliajadi village and Narak Kali village in Puttalam.

(2) Owner:

CEB.

(3) Capacity:

Flue gas desulfurization of 3×300 MW coal-fired power plant.

(4) Date of operation:

Unit 1 in May 2012, Unit 2 in April 2014 and Unit 3 in October 2014.

(5) Investment, construction and operation:

It was invested and operated by the Owner, the Export-Import Bank of China provided loans totaling more than USD 1.3 billion. CMEC was the construction unit and Beijing Guodian Longyuan Environmental Engineering Co., Ltd. was the construction unit of desulfurization system.

2. Major environmental problems to be addressed

SO₂ emission control of flue gas from the coal-fired power plant.

3. Environmental standards and/or main index limits to be followed

The SO₂ concentration limit for flue gas emission from the local coal-fired power plant is 800 mg/m³. It is required hereunder that the desulfurization efficiency shall be higher than 95% and SO₂ emission concentration lower than 100 mg/m³.

4. Technological process

The seawater desulfurization process is adopted, which consists of a flue gas treatment system and a seawater treatment system. The flue gas treatment system absorbs SO₂ in flue gas, and the seawater treatment system aerates and recovers the seawater after absorbing SO₂, so that the seawater could be discharged meeting the design requirements.

5. Environmental pollution control effects

The project was newly built, with SO₂ concentration of flue gas at the inlet＜2000 mg/m³, SO₂ concentration after treatment＜100 mg/m³ and desulfurization efficiency＞95%.

6. Social benefits

The project has contributed to the control of flue gas pollutant emissions from the coal-fired power plant. The construction of the power plant has addressed local power shortage, employed more than 1,000 local workers during the construction period and cultivated various professional and technical personnel for the local community.

7. Economic benefits

The operation of the power plant has stabilized the local power consumption cost and reduced the electricity price in Sri Lanka by 25%. After Phase I of the power plant was completed and put into normal operation, the Owner turned losses into gains in 2013.

Project significance: The average annual growth of power demand in Sri Lanka is 5%~6%. In 2016, the installed power capacity was 4,054 MW, with thermal power accounting for 67.3%. It is the first coal-fired power plant and the power plant with the largest generating capacity in Sri Lanka. It is the largest government-investing construction project since the founding of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the largest economic and trade cooperation project ever between China and Sri Lanka. In 2011, in order to mark the significance of the power plant, CBSL issued the new banknote with the theme of “Development, Prosperity and Dancers”, which printed the power plant on the front of the 100 Sri Lankan Rupees banknote (Dancers series) as a symbol of its prosperity and development.