The Sri Lankan capital Colombo is seen from a Sri Lankan Air Force helicopter. ISHARA S. KODIKARA
The Board of Investment of Sri Lanka said construction would begin this weekend on the refinery and storage facility jointly financed by Oman's Ministry of Oil and Gas and a Singapore-registered company.Deputy international trade minister Nalin Bandara said he expected the refinery, which will eventually produce 200,000 barrels a day, to be fully operational within four years.
It is being constructed near the port of Hambantota, which was leased to a Chinese state-owned enterprise in 2017 for 99 years after Sri Lanka was unable to service a loan from Beijing.The circumstances surrounding China's acquisition of that port, along one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, generated concern in neighbouring India and beyond over Beijing's expanding presence in the Indian Ocean.
"The latest investment shows that companies in other countries too are interested in going to Hambantota," Bandara said.