Sri Lanka has decided to hand over to India the development of three wind farms that was originally awarded to a Chinese firm. The decision was announced on Tuesday, after a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this regard was signed in the presence of Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar in Colombo. The $12 million project, to be built on three small islands (Nainativu, Analaitivu and Delft) in the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka, was awarded to a Chinese firm in 2019, with funding from Asian Development Bank (ADB). India had been protesting against the project citing its proximity to its coast. Due to various reasons the work didn’t commence and the project had to be shelved. A joint statement issued after a visit to Colombo by S Jaishankar said a memorandum of understanding had been signed to build the installations. An Indian official said he couldn’t confirm if the plants in the new agreement are to be built on the same islands earmarked for the Chinese project. The power source and other details on the projects weren’t available. India considers Sri Lanka, just across the narrow Palk Strait off India’s southeastern coast, to be in its sphere of influence. The island nation in the middle of a key sea route connecting the east and west also is important to China’s ambitious “Belt and Road” global infrastructure initiative. Had the Chinese power plant project been realised, it would have placed China next to India’s southern coast. India and China already have running border disputes in other regions. Jaishankar is also taking part in the BIMSTEC summit, a meeting of Bay of Bengal nations Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand for economic cooperation. India also signed agreements on providing a maritime rescue coordination centre and building fisheries harbours in Sri Lanka. The agreements come as Sri Lanka is suffering its worst economic crisis in recent memory with shortages of medicine, fuel and milk power and daily power outages lasting for hours.
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An MoU to build three wind farms was signed in the presence of Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar in Colombo
