Connect with us

BIZ

Irrigation Ministry terminates contract with Chinese joint venture

Published

on

The Sunday Leader newspaper has reported that the Ministry of Irrigation has suspended a contract that was given to a Chinese joint venture, which was supported by the Asian Development Bank.

It further states that the multi-billion rupee project was suspended after the project showed less than three percent progress in the last 18 months.

The news report further states:

The Rs 10.7bn initiative to build the North Western Province’s two largest reservoirs called Mahakithula and Mahakirula is now set to be further delayed as the ADB has said it cannot release funds for at least three years in view of Sri Lanka’s debt default.

The project was awarded to a joint venture between China CAMC Engineering Co. Ltd. (CAMCE) and Qingdao Municipal Construction Group Co. The contract falls under the ADB’s Mahaweli Water Security Investment Programme’s North Western Province Canal Project (NWPCP). The start date was March 31, 2021, and it was due to be completed in two years.

As early as November last year, however, officials had drafted termination letters as work was only inching forward.  The companies bought time and eventually also cited the fuel shortages that started in March 2022.

A project report published on the ADB website this month states that physical progress was recorded as 2.4 percent by the end of June this year when it was expected to have been 45.4 percent.

“Work has been stopped by the contractor and physical progress has dropped,” it documents. “The main reasons for the slow progress of the contractor include delays in mobilising of contractor’s staff and equipment, delays in submitting the contractor’s deliverables, delays in carrying out site establishment activities and preparatory works, fuel shortage, and the broad incompetence of the contractor’s management team and senior engineering personnel.”

It was decided at a meeting between Treasury and Irrigation Ministry officials on Friday that termination notices will be served on the joint venture. It is likely that costs will be recovered from the bid bonds, authoritative sources said.

The objective of the NWPCP is to supply water from the Mahaweli River to areas experiencing scarcity through reservoirs and canals. Other phases of the project are continuing.

For instance, NEM Construction (Pvt) Ltd has made full physical progress in improving the Wemedilla left bank main canal up to Nabadagahawatta and in building a new sluice and tail canal, the ADB report indicates. The project cost is around Rs 926mn.

China State Engineering Corporation Ltd is implementing the Rs 7.2bn construction of the main canal from Nebadagahawatta to Mahakithula reservoir inlet tunnel.

“Key construction work and the progress achieved up to June 2022 includes canal construction, concreting and backfilling (73.80%), tunnel works (61%), canal structures (43.3%), and construction of transitions (28%),” the report states.

BIZ

Standard egg prices to be announced daily via SMS

Published

on

By

Chairman of the All-Ceylon Egg Producers’ Association, R.M. Sarath Rathnayake has said new measures to announce daily standardized egg prices will be introduced from next Monday (June 23) to ensure fair pricing for consumers.

The prices covering wholesale, retail, and intermediary rates will be communicated daily at 5.00am via SMS to small, medium, and large-scale egg producers, as well as bakery owners, food manufacturers, and hotels through the number 070-7030700.

He warned of recent practices where eggs were bought at Rs.15-18 and stockpiled, stating such actions will no longer be tolerated.

He also criticized groups posing as “egg associations” without actual farming experience.

The cost of producing an egg is around Rs.28 for large farms, Rs.29-30 for medium range farms, and Rs.32 for small-scale producers, he further said.

Continue Reading

BIZ

16 bn. Apple, Facebook, Google passwords exposed

Published

on

By

A staggering 16 billion passwords to Apple, Facebook, Google, and various US government services have been leaked online, triggering global security alerts in what experts are calling the most significant data breach in history.

The mammoth security breach has forced Google to urge billions of users to change their passwords immediately.

At the same time, the FBI has issued warnings to Americans about opening suspicious links in SMS messages.

Cybersecurity experts at Cybernews, who investigated the breach, discovered a whopping 30 exposed datasets containing between tens of millions and over 3.5 billion records each.

Perhaps most alarmingly, researchers confirmed that nearly all these exposed datasets contain previously unreported information, making this an entirely fresh security crisis.

“This is not just a leak – it’s a blueprint for mass exploitation,” the researchers said via Forbes this week.

(news.com.au)

Continue Reading

BIZ

New chairman appointed to CSE

Published

on

By

Dimuthu Abeyesekera has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE).

The CSE announced that Mr. Abeyesekera brings over 35 years of experience in the capital markets and has served on the CSE Board for the past six years.

He currently serves as the Director/CEO of Asha Securities Ltd, which is affiliated with Phillip Capital Singapore, a specialized financial services organization managing assets worth over US$ 35 billion with a network of offices around the world.

Abeysekera also currently serves as the Director at Asha Financial Services Ltd, a specialised margin Trading Company in Colombo.

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2024 Sri Lanka Mirror. All Rights Reserved