COLOMBO, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's state-owned petroleum refiner Ceylon Petroleum Corporation started building new fuel storage tanks with the aim of doubling storage capacity after a recent petroleum shortage plunged the island into a fuel crisis, local media reported Saturday.
Petroleum Minister Arjuna Ranatunga said 10 new tanks with a total capacity of 11,200 metric tons were being built at a cost of 412 million rupees (2.7 million U.S. dollars) with priority given to building petrol storage capacity.
Ranatunga said the new tanks being built in Kolonnawa, in the outskirts of the capital, marks the first time in 40 years that the new capacity was being added there.
He said petrol consumption had almost doubled since the ethnic war ended in 2009 in Sri Lanka, with demand increasing about 7 percent annually.
Sri Lanka's transport sector came to a standstill last month amidst a possible severe petrol shortage. Whilst the government maintained they had sufficient fuel stock, angry consumers were forced to line outside fuel stations for hours in order to fill up their tanks.
Following an urgent request from the government, an oil tanker carrying 40,000 metric tons of petrol from the UAE arrived in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo on Nov 9, ending days of a possible shortage.
