After Sri Lanka cancelled an agreement with Iran for the modernisation and expansion of the Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery, the United States (US) is among the countries that put forward proposals for investment in the project under a loan arrangement, Daily Mirror learns.
Following the US sanctions on Iran, the government had to terminate the agreement with that country for the expansion and modernisation of the oil refinery.
Iran had agreed to expand and modernise the Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery, so that its production capacity could be doubled. It was a project of US $ 2 billion. Once the agreement was cancelled, the US put forward proposals for investment in this project. In addition to the US, countries such as China, India and Vietnam also came forward with their investment proposals. However, it is learnt that the government has not given its nod to any of these proposals so far.
Earlier, Iranian crude oil imported to Sri Lanka was refined at the Sapugaskanda refinery. After crude oil imports were restricted following economic sanctions on Iran, the government turned to Oman and Saudi Arabia for the country’s oil requirements.
Asked whether the government would reach any loan arrangement with the US, Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa said there were investment proposals under credit facilities.
“In the world today, there are no grants given to countries as such. Mostly, there are loan facilities for investment projects. The US has put forward their proposals for some such projects. One such project is the Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery. There is also a proposal for investment in the airline industry. All these are under consideration only,” the Minister told Daily Mirror.
(Kelum Bandara)
