Sri Lankan Power and Energy Minister, Ranjith Siyambalapitiya has said that the construction work on the NTPC's power plant at Sampur in Trincomalee will start soon.<br/> <br/>The Minister instructed the authorities to start construction work on the first and second phases of the Sampur coal power plant within the next few months and called upon the residents of the area to give maximum support to the project in national interest.<br/> <br/>The Sampur coal power plant will be built on a 500 acre land in Trincomalee district of the Eastern Province with financial and technical assistance from India. The thermal power plant to be built at an estimated cost of 600 million US dollars and will add 500 megawatts to the national grid.<br/> <br/>The project had been stuck for more than ten years during the Presidency of Mahinda Rajapaksa, as the government did not give its clearance citing issues like settlement of displaced persons in the region and environmental concerns.