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Use of 3 Trinco’ oil tanks to await new Indian envoy- PM orders
 Sri Lanka’s plans to make use of three oil tanks in Trincomalee, leased out to Lanka Indian Oil Corporation (LIOC) has been put on hold on Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s instructions, until the new Indian High Commissioner (HC) assumes duties.
This decision was made when Minister of Petroleum Resources Chandima Weerakkody and Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) officials took up the issue.
There were two previous attempts by CPC officials to inspect the oil tanks, in keeping with a Cabinet decision to use them for the storage of fuel to generate thermal power, because Sri Lanka was heading for a power crisis, had failed.
A senior CPC official said the Prime Minister had instructed that, the issue should be discussed with the new HC, before moving ahead to re-use the three oil tanks.
A spokesman for the Indian High Commission said the new HC is expected to assume office before January 26.
Minister Weerakkody said there was an urgent need to make use of the three tanks, in view of the requirement to generate thermal power.
He said there was also a business proposal with the LIOC, regarding the use of 16 oil tanks in Trincomalee.