The Hambantota 150 MW Solar PV Project has officially rejected allegations published in a recent media report concerning company registration, environmental compliance, and land use near the Hambantota Managed Elephant Reserve. In a formal response, the project group stated that all claims made against the development are false, misleading, and damaging to the reputation of the investors and companies involved.
According to the project developers, the companies involved in the project, including Circleline Solar (Pvt) Ltd and Elektrolite (Private) Limited, are legally registered entities operating under Sri Lankan law. The developers also clarified that the use of multiple companies is a regulatory requirement under Ministry of Power guidelines, which limit individual project capacities to 10 MW AC per company for large-scale solar developments.
The project group further stated that the solar development is located outside the officially declared elephant reserve boundaries and that all land leases and approvals have been obtained legally through relevant government authorities. The developers denied allegations related to environmental approval violations, bribery, illegal land clearing, and claims that the project exists only on paper, emphasizing that construction activities and infrastructure works are already underway.
The Hambantota solar project represents an estimated US$150 million investment and is expected to add 150 MW of renewable energy capacity to Sri Lanka’s national grid by early 2028. The developers noted that the project is being implemented under the newly restructured energy sector framework and warned that legal action has been initiated against parties responsible for spreading what they describe as defamatory information.
