Leighton Asia News, July 2005 - Leighton Holdings

Vital power on line in Sri Lanka
The commissioning of a new power station at Embilipitiya, Sri Lanka, supplies a
much-needed new source of energy to a country that has had more than its share
of difficulties in recent times.
Despite the tsunami hitting the coasts of
Sri Lanka in December and causing
devastation in the region, Leighton
Contractors Lanka (Pvt) Ltd has completed
the construction and installation works for
the new 103 MW power plant in only 14
months. The plant is now exporting power
to the Sri Lankan grid.
Leighton’s EPC contract involved the design
and construction of the main powerhouse to
accommodate 14 Caterpillar engines and the
associated support facilities, which include
a tank farm, a fuel unloading station, a fuel
treatment building and a switchyard.
Tom McGuire, Leighton’s country manager for
Sri Lanka, said the project presented some
unique challenges.
“Part of the difficulty was the project’s remote
location. Embilipitiya is a small town in the
south-eastern corner of the country; about four
to five hours’ drive from Colombo.
“The site itself is located some distance out
of town and there were occasional problems
with staff encountering elephants on their way
to and from work,” he said.
“We needed a large workforce and,
consequently, had to enlist staff from all
over the country to work here. In a very short
time frame, we had to integrate a large
number of new employees into Leighton’s
systems and procedures.
“When you consider the devastating impact the
tsunami has had on this country, the
achievement of getting the facility to provide
electricity on schedule is testimony to the
commitment of all involved. It also
demonstrates Leighton’s ability to mobilise and
motivate people even during times of
hardship,” said Tom.