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Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Sunday visited the Second World War-era oil storage facility in the strategically important port district of Trincomalee on Sri Lanka’s east coast, which has been a key bilateral economic partnership link for decades.
Details
- The Trincomalee harbour, one of the deepest natural harbours in the world, was developed by the British during the War.
- Since 2003, the Lanka IOC, the Sri Lankan subsidiary of India’s oil major Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), has the leasing rights to 99 tanks at the facility for a period of 35 years for an annual payment of $100,000.
- As per the agreement, the IOC was also given a one-third share of the Sri Lankan government entity, Petroleum Storage Limited.
CPC’s demands
- Initially, the CPC wanted to develop 25 of the tanks by investing $25-30 million.
- The CPC maintains that it will allow them to strengthen their oil storage and distribution in the north and eastern provinces while allowing stock maintenance to suffice 2-3 months.
- Mr. Shringla arrived in Sri Lanka on Saturday on a four-day visit during which he will meet the top leadership, including President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the Prime Minister , and review the bilateral ties between India and the island nation.
Source: The Hindu
