Minister of Petroleum Resource Development Arjuna Ranatunga stated that a project to set up pipelines to deliver aircraft fuel to Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake from the Muthurajawela storage tanks will be expedited. The 19 mile pipeline is to set up along the Colombo-Negombo Expressway.
The provision of fuel for aircraft in Sri Lanka is done entirely by the CPC and it is also the main source of foreign exchange for the Petroleum Corporation, the Minister pointed out. The main center for fuel bunkering for the aircraft is located at the Bandaranaike International Airport, Katunayake. The fuel is being transported by train from the oil refinery at Kolonnawa.
The current daily jet fuel volume of 1.6 million liters is estimated to increase to 2 million liters per day by 2020, and by the year 2030, it could be 3 million to 5 million liters.Accordingly, in addition to Kolonnawa, the oil refinery at Muthurajawela also hopes to supply fuel to Katunayake. Furthermore, pumping fuel from Muthurajawela to Katunayake will generate electricity savings of over 200,000 kilowatt hours per year, the Minister pointed out.
