Sri Lanka and India are giving final touches to the proposed $500-million thermal power plant at Sampur in Trincomalee.

An agreement on power purchasing from the new plant would be signed between the Electricity Board and India’s state-run power producer NTPC, after conclusion of the negotiations, official sources said.

It is reported that the plant will be a joint venture between the Sri Lankan and Indian governments and will be jointly owned by the two countries in equal shares. Both sides will invest $75 million each for the project.

Sri Lanka would benefit from the project which power produced brought to Anuradhapura in North Central Province to be distributed to other areas.

The project will consist of two phases and the first phase is expected to be completed by 2012.

The initial planning of the project has been completed and the commencement of the construction work is expected in November. The construction work of the plant would be undertaken by NTPC, while the Electricity Board would monitor the engineering work of the project.

Electricity Board signed an agreement with NTPC in December 2006 for the development of a 2x250-Mw coal-based power project at Trincomalee.

According to the memorandum of understanding, the project would be developed through a joint venture company of NTPC and the Electricity Board.