Swedish contractor Skanska has signed an MoU with Sri Lanka’s Ceylon Electricity Board to build a new hydro plant at Kukule Ganga. A formal agreement is expected to be signed later this year. The assignment is valued at about SKr450M (US$54M) and is contingent on the approval of Japan’s Overseas Economic Co-operation Fund, which is providing loans for the project.
Skanska will carry out underground work at the power plant which will have an output of 2x35MW. Head and tail races at the plant will total 6.6km, and a 140m pressure shaft and underground power house have also to be excavated. Anticipated construction time is 43 months, and Japanese company Kajima will carry out the above-ground work in a separate contract.
Previously, in Sri Lanka, Skanska International Civil Engineering has been contractor for the Kotmale station.