Sri Lanka needs to leverage its Trincomalee natural deep-water harbour for an anticipated increase in trade within the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, and Thailand, Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chairperson Harsha de Silva said, speaking on Ada Derana’s Hydepark show on Friday (27).
“If you look at the Bay of Bengal, you look at Trincomalee, and then you look at the eastern seaboard of India, going up to Bangladesh, turning around Myanmar, Thailand, all these countries – that space is open and so much trade will happen. And Bangladesh, these countries are growing rapidly but with no deep sea ports,” De Silva said, referring to the Trincomalee natural deep-water harbour, which was once a geostrategic node in the ancient Maritime Silk Road.
Sri Lanka is also currently in high level discussions with India to renovate the World War II era British-built fuel storage facility located in China Bay, Trincomalee, to curb the impact of the growing fuel shock experienced by the nations amidst the US-Israeli war in Iran.
According to international reports, the cost of renovating each of the 61 tanks that have been earmarked of the 99 total tanks for the project, would cost roughly around $ 1.2 million per tank. Last Saturday (28) India sent a shipment of 38,000 metric tons of petroleum to Sri Lanka.
The oil storage tanks which are located in the China Bay area of Trincomalee, are situated in close proximity to the deep-water natural harbour in Koddiyar Bay, Trincomalee.
“There are studies already done by ADB and others: on fuel supplies, gas transfers, pipelines, both of which can happen on the surface of the ocean and at the bottom of the ocean. Data transfers, data pipelines, there’s so much that we can leverage within the Bay of Bengal region, and the natural absolutely number one choice is Trincomalee,” De Silva said, commenting on the key asset, which has been historically underutilised since Sri Lanka’s independence in 1948.
Sri Lanka is at the onset of experiencing a possible cost-of-living crisis tied to the rise in global energy prices and shipment disruptions, as an outcome of the Middle East conflict.
While it may be capable of fiscally supporting a fuel subsidy of Rs. 20 billion for the next two to three months, the national treasury indicates that it may not be able to continue beyond that point, which would directly impact local consumers at least for the medium term ahead.