23 February 2021 06:17 pm
Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila today assured that fuel prices will not be increased within the next three months despite the increase in crude oil prices at the World Market.
He told Parliament that the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation was incurring a loss at present and said the government was absorbing the loss to maintain a stable price for fuel.
" The government has taken a policy decision to maintain a stable price for fuel in order to maintain a stable production cost and to prevent the cost of living going up,"
The Minister, who was responding to a query of SJB MP Hesha Vinthanage, said that the government had not increased fuel prices during the last one and a half years
“The fuel prices were last increased in September in 2019. A barrel of crude oil was US$ 60 at that time. A barrel of crude oil is sold at US$ 64 today. However, we are not going to increase fuel prices. The government is absorbing the fluctuations of the fuel prices without burdening the people,” he said.
Responding to a question regarding the Trincomalee oil tank farms, he said that the oil tank farms will be operated through a joint venture between India and Sri Lanka with more shares to the Sri Lankan side.
He said the media had misquoted him that the government was going to reacquire the oil tank farms recently. (Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera)