The Coal is Burning: FSP Blows Whistle on Govt. Over Coal Tender

The Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) has accused the government of rewriting the rulebook to hand a controversial coal import tender to a favoured company, reigniting debate over corruption in Sri Lanka’s energy sector.

Speaking at a seminar in Bendiwewa, Polonnaruwa, FSP Education Secretary Pubudu Jayagoda alleged that the 15 September tender was engineered to favour Trident Chemphar. He pointed to a drastic change in eligibility requirements: in 2021, bidders had to show one million tonnes of reserves with a gross calorific value of 5900 kCal/kg. By 2025, that figure had been cut to just 100,000 tonnes, a 90 per cent reduction.

“This was not a technical change. It was a political one,” Jayagoda said. “Procurement guidelines were rewritten to fit the needs of one bidder, and once again the public is being forced to pay for it.”

Trident Chemphar is no stranger to controversy. A 2016 Auditor General’s report to COPE cited the firm for violating procurement rules during a 2014 deal to supply 30,000 tonnes of rice to Sathosa. The company’s name has also surfaced in other allegations of irregularities.

Jayagoda noted the suspicious timing of the tender call. Coal procurement is normally announced in March, but this year it was delayed until July, despite electricity being designated an essential service. “That label was used to justify tariff hikes and restrict rooftop solar. But when it came to protecting public money, the urgency mysteriously disappeared,” he said.

Sri Lanka has a long history of murky coal deals. The most notorious was the 2015–2016 coal procurement scandal, when tenders were manipulated to award contracts to suppliers outside competitive bidding. The Supreme Court later intervened, striking down the irregular process, but by then the country had incurred millions of dollars in additional costs.

Energy sector watchdogs note that coal imports have consistently been vulnerable to manipulation, given the large volumes, international shipping arrangements, and the urgency created by Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) demand. Past deals have drawn criticism for inflated pricing, opaque tender procedures, and political patronage.

By bringing Trident Chemphar back into the spotlight, the FSP has reopened old wounds. For many, the latest revelations confirm a pattern: rules bent, deadlines delayed, and tenders shaped for insiders, all while the public foots the bill through higher tariffs.

“The rot runs deep,” Jayagoda concluded. “Corruption is no longer just political theatre. It is entrenched in the bureaucracy and business cartels that control essential services.”