Plans to develop Trincomalee as a regional energy hub in partnership with India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) face an uncertain future, Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Energy said on Friday, as recent discussions have yet to yield concrete progress.
Ministry of Energy Secretary Prof. Udayanga Hemapala told The Sunday Morning that four to five rounds of talks had been held, but no final conclusion had been reached.
“We have held four or five discussions, but there has been no progress. However, we have not given up on the project, nor have we decided to withdraw from it,” he said.
The initiative, first propelled during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official visit to Sri Lanka in April, aims to transform the eastern port city of Trincomalee into a major energy and logistics centre.
Agreements signed at the time included memoranda of understanding (MOUs) between Prof. Hemapala, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, and UAE Ambassador to Sri Lanka Khaled Nasser AlAmeri.
The proposed hub would feature a multi-product pipeline, extensive bunkering facilities, and potentially a refinery, making it a strategic node for fuel storage, transportation, and distribution in the Indian Ocean region.
The project is intended to bolster energy security for South Asia, creating a world-class facility capable of handling large-scale fuel supply and storage.
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