South Bunker

June 18, (LBO) – Sri Lanka is getting a 65 million US dollars loan from China's Exim Bank to build an oil storage facility in the Southern coastal town of Hambantota, a senior government minister said. "The objective of this project is to supply and store marine fuel, aviation fuel and LP gas and provide bunkering services for vessels passing by Sri Lanka," information minister Anura Yapa said.

A bulk storage tank farm with a capacity of 82,000 cubic meters of fuel storage and connecting pipelines would be built, Yapa said.

The facility will come up at a new port being built in Hambantota, also finance by China.

The Exim Bank of China is already financing a large proportion of a coal fired plant in Sri Lanka's Western coast, north of Sri Lanka's capital Colombo.

The Hambanthota port located at the southern tip of Sri Lanka bordering one of the busiest international shipping lanes.

Bunkering, or ship oil services are already offered from Colombo by several companies. In the Eastern port city of Trincomalee, Lanka IOC, a unit of Indian Oil Corporation sells bunkers.