Marking a major milestone in a strategic project in Sri Lanka whose fate has remained uncertain for decades, Lanka IOC, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation and the Government of Sri Lanka on Thursday signed three lease agreements on jointly developing the Trincomalee oil tank farm in eastern Sri Lanka.
The move, which finally firms up India’s role in the controversial project discussed since the time of the Indo-Lanka Accord of 1987, follows Cabinet clearance earlier this week. Sections have opposed the Rajapaksa government's decision to involve India in a project that was much negotiated by different governments, but was never finalised.
Indian Oil Corporation subsidiary Lanka IOC would run the 14 oil storage tanks it currently operates for 50 years, while CPC would run 24 tanks. Trinco Petroleum Terminal Pvt. Ltd, set up by the CPC for the project, would develop the remaining 61 tanks in the Word War II-era facility, in a joint venture where 51% stakes will be held by CPC and 49% by Lanka IOC, Sri Lanka's Energy Minister earlier said.
