July 24, Colombo: Sri Lanka government has decided to commence the construction of long pending Broadland Hydropower Projec (BHP)t of Laxapana Hydropower complex.

The Cabinet has yesterday approved the project which is the last of the series of hydropower plants of Laxapana.

This project has been stalled for 25 years due to environmental concerns. However, the government says that the project can prevent carbon emission by 86,000 metric tons per year. The state can earn US $ 2.4 million per year through carbon trading, the state-owned Daily News reported.

The Broadlands Hydropower Project is a run-of-river type project planned to build on the Kelani River. The main work sites of the project are located about 90 km north-east of Colombo, near the town of Kithulgala.

A Chinese company has received the contract for the construction at a cost of US $ 82 million.

The project will have an installed capacity of 35 MW and expects to generate 126 GWh of electrical energy annually.