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Energy Minister issues red alert as economic crisis deepens
19 Feb, 2022
Energy Minister Udaya Gamanpilla has issued a red alert for Sri Lanka saying the country may run out of fuel very soon.
Gamanpilla said that the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) does not have money to purchase oil.
Speaking at an event in Kaduwella today, the Minister said the crisis in the CPC was as a result of fuel being sold to the public at a concessionary rate.
Gamanpilla said that fuel was continuously sold at a much lesser rate to the public than the rate it was purchased from overseas.
As a result, the CPC had to incur losses over the years for the fuel it imported.
The Minister said also that the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and SriLankan Airlines owe huge sums of money to the CPC for fuel.
He said that the fuel crisis in Sri Lanka has reached a level where the public might be forced to leave their cars at home and travel in a bicycle.
Sri Lanka has been negotiating credit lines to purchase fuel to meet the local demand.
Under an Indian credit line Sri Lanka recently secured 40,000 MT of fuel from Indian Oil.(Colombo Gazette)
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