PM assures Parliament of fuel soon

By Ashwin Hemmathagama, Our Lobby Correspondent

Setting the record straight, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday rejected the conspiracy theory in leasing the tank farm in Trincomalee to the Indian Oil Company for 35 years. 

According to the Prime Minister, the Government is unable to shoulder the heavy repair costs of these 99 World War II era tanks and it was seen as prudent to lease them out to Lanka IOC, which has increased its presence to 100 filling stations throughout Sri Lanka since 2003. Listing the reasons for the long lines seen in front of the filling stations in the last few days, the Prime Minister assured Parliament that two tankers were on their way instead of one and would soon reach Lankan shores.

“This morning both the President and I spoke with the Government of India and they are sending us a separate tanker. The tankers will reach us by 9 November. So we now have two tankers.”

The Prime Minister also accused certain factions of trying to gain political mileage through a decision taken in 2003 which was allowed to continue by the Rajapaksa administration without a hum.

“The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation didn’t have the ability in 2003 to use these tanks and is still burdened with debt. Then Government wanted to lease it and spoke to India firstly, who agreed to take over. The IOC repaired some tanks and started using them. Then the Government changed and was unable to execute the agreement in full. So we revisited the matter in 2015 and agreed that Lanka IOC repair and use them,” he said.

“We need to act according to the agreement with India. This agreement could have been easily cancelled by the previous Government. Rather than cancelling it during President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s period, Lanka IOC was allowed to continue. Tell me why he failed to cancel it and send the Indians back? These tanks in Trincomalee are capable of serving the whole of Sri Lanka as well as some parts of India. I am sure that it will be repaired and used for a regional storage. On the other hand, a new refinery will be built in Hambantota by China. I know the trade unions were against it. Instead of one we should have two refineries in the island. The deal with Iran to build a new refinery, including the Uma Oya project financing, could not proceed due to US sanctions on Iran. Don’t forget that Lanka IOC served the country during the CPC strikes. Even though a committee decides the purchase of fuel, we will look into the delays of the tanker,” added the Prime Minister.