President Ranil Wickremesinghe directed the Minister of Power & Energy and relevant officials to swiftly initiate a plan to revive the Trincomalee oil tank farm and incorporate it into the country’s economy.
He gave these directives during an inspection visit to the Lanka Indian Oil Company (LIOC) oil tank farm in Trincomalee this afternoon (March 03).
The Head of State emphasized the urgency of implementing the Trincomalee Development Program by renovating the 61 tanks of the Upper Tank Farm (UTF), which remained unused for more than several decades.
Upon his arrival, President Wickremesinghe was welcomed by LIOC’s Managing Director Manoj Gupta at the LIOC’s Lower Tank Farm area along with other LIOC senior officials and team members, who briefed him on the operations of the oil tank farm.
The President also visited the Lubricating Oil Blending Plant belonging to the Indian Oil Company, which has an annual capacity of 18,000 KL and fulfils the country’s lubricating oil needs.
During the visit, the delegation also inspected Sri Lanka’s first locally-developed Grease Manufacturing Plant, which was built and launched by LIOC. With a capacity of 3,000 MT per annum, this plant has the potential to meet the entire island’s demand for grease, thereby saving valuable foreign exchange that is currently being spent on grease imports.
The President examined the bowser filling facility of LIOC, which operates 24/7 as needed, to ensure that the country’s energy needs are consistently and efficiently met.
Additionally, the President toured the Upper Tank Farm (UTF) section at the Trincomalee tank farms. The area includes 61 storage tanks that are currently being renovated by Trinco Petroleum Terminal Pvt Ltd (TPTL), which is a partnership between Ceylon Petroleum and LIOC.
The President also visited the tanks which were bombed during World War II.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe expressed his appreciation for LIOC’s dedication to ensuring a consistent fuel supply to the country during the crisis. As a token of appreciation, a commemorative souvenir was presented to mark the President’s visit.
Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekara, State Ministers Premitha Bandara Tennakoon and D. V. Chanaka, Parliamentarian Kapila Athukorala, President’s Senior Adviser on National Security and Chief of Presidential Staff Sagala Ratnayake, Senior Vice President of LIOC D. Mukherjee, Vice President of LIOC B.K. Mandal, Managing Director of LIOC Manoj Gupta, and former Navy Commander Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne also participated in the event.
