By: Isuru Parakrama
November 15, Colombo (LNW): Sri Lankan engineering firm Lakdhanavi Limited has secured a major contract valued at approximately US$ 75 million to develop a 57 MW natural gas-fired power plant in India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands, marking a significant expansion of its operations into the Indian energy market.
The project, estimated to be worth around Rs. 25 billion, will be undertaken at Hope Town in Port Blair, Andaman Island. Once completed, the facility is expected to enhance electricity generation capacity in the island territory, improve the reliability of power supplies and support its longer-term energy requirements.
The agreement represents Lakdhanavi’s first major entry into India’s power plant engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) sector, opening up fresh opportunities for the Sri Lankan company in one of South Asia’s largest infrastructure markets.
A subsidiary of LTL Holdings and part of the LTL Group, Lakdhanavi won the project following an international competitive tender organised by NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited (NVVN), a subsidiary of India’s state-owned National Thermal Power Corporation. The company emerged as the lowest bidder in the procurement process.
The contract was formally signed on September 21, 2026 at the NTPC Office Complex in Noida, with senior officials from NVVN, Lakdhanavi and LTL Holdings attending the occasion. The discussions also covered the proposed implementation arrangements and possibilities for further cooperation between the two organisations.
Lakdhanavi will be responsible for the engineering and execution of the project, while Finland-based Wärtsilä Corporation will provide the principal power-generation equipment. The collaboration brings together Sri Lankan project engineering capabilities and international technology expertise.
The new undertaking builds on Lakdhanavi’s established track record in the energy industry. Founded in the late 1990s under LTL Holdings, the company has developed extensive experience in power generation, independent power production and the operation and maintenance of both conventional and renewable energy facilities.
Its international portfolio already includes projects and operations in Bangladesh, Nepal and the Maldives. Winning the Indian contract is expected to further strengthen its regional footprint and enhance its credentials in the highly competitive international power infrastructure business.
The wider LTL Group has a significant presence across Sri Lanka’s electricity industry, with operations spanning generation, transmission and distribution. LTL Holdings originated as a joint venture between the Ceylon Electricity Board and a European partner. Its current shareholding includes a 35 per cent interest held by National Transmission Network System Provider (Pvt) Ltd, a government-owned entity operating under Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Energy.
The contract has also attracted a positive response from Sri Lanka’s political leadership. Energy Minister Anura Karunathilake congratulated the company during a meeting with LTL management, expressing the Government’s satisfaction at seeing a local enterprise win a substantial infrastructure project in a major overseas market.
The development is being viewed as an encouraging indication of the ability of Sri Lankan businesses to compete internationally, particularly in technically demanding industries where expertise, reliability and project delivery capabilities are essential.
It also adds a new dimension to the economic relationship between Sri Lanka and India. Although bilateral economic cooperation has traditionally attracted attention through Indian investment and development initiatives in Sri Lanka, Lakdhanavi’s latest achievement demonstrates the scope for Sri Lankan enterprises to secure commercial opportunities across the Palk Strait.
Such ventures could help broaden the relationship beyond conventional investment and development assistance, creating greater room for private-sector partnerships, technology exchange and cross-border business expansion.
Eng. Nuhuman Marikkar, Chief Executive Officer of Lakdhanavi Limited and LTL Holdings Limited, described the contract as an important breakthrough for the company and a proud moment for Sri Lankan engineering.
He noted that the award reflected the organisation’s technical strengths, the commitment of its workforce and the confidence international clients had placed in its ability to undertake and deliver complex power infrastructure assignments.
Marikkar also expressed the company’s commitment to working closely with NVVN throughout the implementation process, with the objective of completing the project successfully.
Lakdhanavi’s latest achievement could therefore prove to be more than a single overseas contract, potentially providing a platform for further expansion into India’s growing energy infrastructure sector and strengthening the international standing of Sri Lankan engineering companies.