President Anura Kumara Dissanayake emphasised that Sri Lanka will prevent a recurrence of the situation that resulted in fatalities while people waiting for fuel and gas.
The President made these remarks yesterday (17) at the commencement of construction work on six additional oil storage tanks at the Kolonnawa Petroleum Storage Complex.
Once completed, the new facility will include three tanks with a capacity of 15,000 cubic metres each, two 7,000 cubic metres tanks and one 5,000 cubic metres tank.
Highlighting that the government is working to establish economic sovereignty by safeguarding energy security, the President called upon the people for their support in this progressive transformation.
Speaking further, President Dissanayake said:
The government has a responsibility to meet the energy needs of the people and we are committed to fulfilling that duty. If any trade union obstructs the programme being implemented by the government, we will not hesitate to take the necessary decisions. No institution can move forward with outdated traditions alone, nor can it progress through human labour alone. To move forward, technology and science must be integrated. An institution that fears technology or science cannot develop, nor can a country afraid of innovation, advance. Therefore, institutions must be modernised and mechanised.
Mechanisation does not make us mechanical beings, we remain human with feelings. That is why, when institutions are modernised, we fully understand the implications for employees and provide solutions accordingly.
Previously, whenever governments changed, workers in unions affiliated with the former ruling party were pressured to join unions affiliated with the new government. Those who belonged to other unions were not even allowed inside the premises. Employees of the Petroleum Corporation were exploited for political activities and in history even state employees were used to commit fraud at the polling stations.
Last year, we put an end to such a political culture. No public servant was harassed as a result. Do the people of this country really want a return to that destructive past? If so, they would not have voted for us. They would have chosen the old rulers. We would not have received 159 seats in Parliament. But some individuals still resist change. I urge them to be ready to change, failing which, we are prepared to make decisions, because we will not compromise endlessly. Do not view this progressive transformation through a narrow political lens.
More than two decades ago, the Iranian leader himself laid the foundation stone for the modernisation of the Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Company, but the project was not implemented in time, adding an unnecessary burden to electricity costs. Just as we are modernising the Sapugaskanda Refinery we will take steps to expand the capacity, we are also moving towards commencing petroleum exploration, for which scientists and experts have already volunteered their services.
Our people often hear stories about presence of oil during election seasons. The first bottle of crude oil was shown during the 1970 election. At present, we place our trust in professionals and entrust them with the responsibility, while the government only provides the necessary facilities.
The Ceylon Electricity Board has 26,000 employees under a single governing authority. Yet, when problems arise, it becomes difficult to identify the root-cause there is no clear ownership of the crisis. The law to privatize the CEB was passed before this government took office and we have seen its impact on energy autonomy. Is it a crime to amend that law? Is the issue that employees launched work-to-rule action, or that they are on sick leave? In the next two months, they will have to make a choice.
Some say that Sri Lanka has some of the highest electricity costs in the region. That is why we are working to reduce the cost of a unit of electricity. Earlier, the price of electricity generated from renewable sources was high and renewable energy was often misused.
Some waterfalls were sold through the obtaining of licenses with the assistance of politicians, even though many of those license holders had no knowledge of electricity generation. Before we came to power, a wind power plant was granted on a certain land in the North at dollar 8 cents per unit. We allocated the same land and wind resources to a company that now produces electricity at dollar 4 cents per unit, effectively reducing the cost of generating one unit of electricity by 50 per cent. Work has also begun on a 100-megawatt solar power plant in Siyambalanduwa, the first project of such scale in the country. We have no personal connections with these businessmen they are not our friends. Our priority is to implement projects that truly benefit the country.
Kerawalapitiya began as a diesel power plant, but power sector experts recommended converting it into an LNG power plant. If this conversion had taken place, the cost of producing a unit of electricity could have been reduced by 50 per cent. However, during the 2015–2019 government, a conflict between the President and the Prime Minister over which company would be granted Kerawalapitiya prevented this conversion. As a result, the plant has still not been converted into an LNG facility and consumers continue to face higher electricity bills.
In the future, we plan to modernize and utilize the 24 government-owned oil tanks in Trincomalee, and we aim to finalize the relevant agreements on schedule.
Over the past eight months, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation has earned a profit of Rs. 18.2 billion. However, the CPC is not the only supplier of fuel to consumers in Sri Lanka, so this profit cannot be distributed directly to the people. Therefore, we are taking steps to channel these earnings indirectly for the benefit of the public through education and health initiatives.
The government has decided to close 33 government institutions that do not provide services to the people. Some of these institutions lease their land and use the income to pay employees’ salaries. Does the country need such institutions? By 2027, Rs. 330 billion will be allocated for salary increases in government services, but will the people truly benefit? This is something we must consider. Government institutions have rest houses that should be put to commercial use and developed as sources of income. Some politicians and former Presidents have lived in government houses for 31 years we are changing that. We are working to make the country more civilized and have ended the era of deifying rulers. We do not claim to know everything and all those with knowledge must be allowed to speak.
Remaining silent is a disservice, scholars and experts in their fields should share their ideas. By listening to them, we can advance the journey of building this country. We are a government connected to the people and we will not allow a crisis like the one in 2022, when people suffered and even died waiting in oil and gas queues, to happen again.
The contract for constructing six petroleum storage tanks at the Kolonnawa Petroleum Storage Complex has been awarded to M/s Indo East Engineering – Ceylex Engineering JV at a total cost of Rs. 3.7 billion. The project is scheduled for completion in 24 months, by September 2027.
Minister of Energy Kumara Jayakody stated that the new storage tanks will significantly enhance the country’s fuel storage capacity and ensure a sustainable, efficient and uninterrupted supply of petroleum products to meet growing demand.
The event was attended by Secretary to the Ministry of Energy K.T.M. Udayanga Hemapala, Chairman of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation and the Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Limited (CPSTL) Ananda Rajakaruna and other ministry officials.