Sri Lanka will expand bunkering capacity at the Port of Colombo by 50,000 metric tonnes and open most of the Trincomalee oil tank farm to private investment, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said while presenting the 2027 Budget on Thursday.
“With the number of vessels arriving at Sri Lankan ports increasing day by day, there is great potential to expand and strengthen bunkering capacity and to establish Sri Lanka as a competitive regional bunkering hub,” the President told Parliament, the Daily Mirror reported.
The Colombo expansion is to be carried out with the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and private sector participation under a Build-Operate-Transfer arrangement. CPC and private operators would also develop the storage and pipeline systems needed for bunkering services centred on the Port of Galle.
Trincomalee as a storage hub
The President identified Trincomalee as having the potential to become a major fuel storage hub and “a strategic link to the South Asian regional energy supply network”, to be developed through state and international partnerships.
Repair work on two of five selected tanks at the Trincomalee Upper Tank Farm has already been completed. A new pipeline system connecting the tank farm to the port is planned, with CPC expected to invest Rs 7,375 million.
Separately, the government plans to invite investment proposals in 2027 to develop 29 of the 61 tanks owned by Trinco Petroleum Terminal (Private) Limited at the Port of Trincomalee, under a public-private partnership. Trinco Petroleum Terminal was jointly established by CPC and Lanka IOC.
The President said the developments would strengthen Sri Lanka’s maritime competitiveness and establish the country as a key energy hub in global shipping, including offshore bunkering.
Context
The Upper Tank Farm has been the subject of negotiation between Sri Lanka and India for years, and the division of the 99-tank complex between CPC, Lanka IOC and the joint venture has been contested at various points. Thursday’s announcement is the clearest recent statement of how many of the joint-venture tanks the government intends to put to investors.
Sourcing note
The Daily Mirror was the only verified newsroom to have filed on this section of the speech at the time of writing — on budget day outlets split the speech into separate line-item reports. The figures above are as that filing recorded them.
Not reported
The filing does not say what the 50,000-tonne Colombo expansion will cost, when proposals for the Trincomalee tanks will be called, or which international partners are in discussion.