Sri Lanka will open tenders next month calling for international bids for an energy project on liquefied natural gas, Xinhua quoted a government official as saying on Saturday.

It said the project is intended to generate 300 megawatts of electricity to the national grid.

Spokesman for Sri Lanka Powers and Energy Ministry Sulakshana Jayawardane told Xinhua that the government had agreed to proceed with the project, to be implemented in Kerawalapitiya.

“We are now working on the tender process. We will open tenders calling for bids in April,” Xinhua quoted the spokesman as saying.  

Sri Lanka depends on hydro, coal and thermal power in main for its energy requirement, but the prevailing dry spell has reduced the contribution of hydro power to ten percent of the national grid.