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Kolonnawa to MRIA, 5 tankers of jet fuel daily for one or two flights
View(s):Hambantota oil tank farm yet to be commissioned, feasibility study under way for pipeline connecting to airport
By Namini Wijedasa
Five bowsers of aviation fuel travel from the Kolonnawa oil refinery to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) every day, for refueling of aircraft, authoritative sources from the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) said.
This is because the Chinese built oil tank farm near the Hambantota Port, about 30 km from Mattala, is yet to be commissioned, they said.
Even after the oil tank farm is fully commissioned around end September this year, aviation fuel will be conveyed by bowser to MRIA. This is because there is still no pipeline or railway line connecting the Hambantota oil tank farm and Mattala airport. CPC is now conducting a feasibility study for the construction of a pipeline. It was also not immediately clear how supplies would reach the new oil terminal- whether via road from Kolonnawa, as it does now, or by sea via the Hambantota Port. “We have been told that the Hambantota harbour is deep enough for even the largest carrier to come in,” said one CPC official.
At present, however, only car carriers dock at the harbour, as gantry cranes have yet to be installed for the unloading of other cargo. “They have been ordered,” said a source from Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), who did not wish to be quoted. A SriLankan Airlines flight was delayed at MRIA on March 24 when a bowser carrying jet fuel for the aircraft arrived late. Riyadh bound UL273 had taken off from Bandaranaike International Airport and landed at MRIA for refueling.
Airport authorities said this mistake hasn’t been repeated. They said “one or two” flights land at MRIA on most days of the week. “For any airport to develop it is a gradual process,” said an official, who also wished to remain anonymous. CPC has now positioned mobile tanks with a storage capacity of 250,000 litres at MRIA. They are replenished with fuel from the five bowsers daily, which have a capacity of 33,000 litres each.
Meanwhile, the Hambantota oil tank farm will be pre-commissioned in a few weeks, said Agil Hewageegana, Chief Engineer, Southern Ports Development, Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA). The tender to supply oil for pre-commissioning has been awarded exclusively to the Hanqui Contracting and Engineering Corporation (HCEC), the same company that built the bunkering facility and tank farm.
At present, HCEC is rectifying defects that the CPC had detected in the terminal system. “They initially refused to do this, saying it was not in their contract with SLPA,” the sources said. But HCEC complied after authorities insisted that they had certain obligations when building such a complex.
CPC sources said SLPA was in discussions now with the contractor regarding the final commissioning in the presence of a specialised Chinese team. Three of the 14 tanks will be leased out to CPC for storage of jet oil. Eight tanks will be used by SLPA for bunkering (fueling of ships), while the remaining three will store Liquid Petroleum Gas. Litro Gas Lanka Ltd is being considered in this regard.
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