Sri Lanka ‘should be vigilant’ about Adani power deal following U.S. indictment, say experts
The HinduSri Lanka should be vigilant about the Adani power project in the island, experts said on Thursday,after Federal prosecutors in New York indicted Group Chairman Gautam Adani and seven others on multiple counts of fraud. When the Adani Group came under the global spotlight in early 2023, and its stocks plummeted in the wake of U.S. short seller Hindenburg accusing it of pulling the “largest con in corporate history”, then Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka Ali Sabry said the Wickremesinghe administration was “very, very confident” of the future of the project, which it saw as a “government-to-government” deal with India. Going forward, the Dissanayake government must revisit the project with an open tender process, Mr. Aneez said, adding, “If Adani Green wins the bid through that process, then they are welcome… The Sri Lankan government has greater bargaining power now.” The renewable energy project is one of two projects that the Adani Group is executing in Sri Lanka. In November 2023, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation announced a $553-million investment in the project, a $700-million joint venture among Adani Ports, Sri Lanka Ports Authority, and Sri Lankan conglomerate John Keells Holdings.