Govt. cracks new deal to secure jet fuel; lifeline for aviation, tourism industries 

• Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera says CPC entered into 1-year agreement to secure uninterrupted jet fuel supply
• First Jet-A1 fuel shipment due on 12 or 14 August
• Confirms making part advance payments to one petrol and one diesel shipments

By Charumini de Silva

The aviation and tourism industries are seeing a silver lining, as the Government has finally entered into a long-term agreement to secure uninterrupted jet fuel after two months.

Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera yesterday announced that the State-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation has entered into a one-year supply agreement to secure jet fuel.

He said the first shipment of jet fuel is scheduled to arrive in Colombo by around 12 or 14 August. 

Several airlines were contemplating suspending their operations in Sri Lanka, as no credible solution was in sight to resolve the jet fuel shortage and the fund repatriation issues faced by the country’s aviation industry.

The situation compelled several international airlines including the national carrier – SriLankan Airlines to have utilised Trivandrum, Chennai, and Kochi airports in South India as a refuelling base before continuing to Sri Lanka. The fuel shortage also prompted airlines to cut down on capacity to Colombo. 

The jet fuel shortage also threatened the triple-hit tourism industry’s recovery, which depends largely on air connectivity.

The country’s main international airport, Bandaranaike International Airport has the capacity for 7.8 million litres of Jet-A1 fuel. However, the airport has managed to secure an average of just 250,000 litres per day.

Minister Wijesekera also said payments were made for a diesel shipment on Tuesday, adding that it began unloading the stock yesterday.

In addition, the Power and Energy Minister asserted that part advance payments were also made to one petrol and one diesel shipment.

However, the details of the quantities of the petrol and diesel shipments or the country’s origin were not disclosed by Minister Wijesekera.