Minister Bathiudeen pleased to be part of Sri Lanka – Oman oil refinery project
(FASTNEWS|COLOMBO) – Minister Rishad Bathiudeen on Sunday (24) stated that he was pleased to be part of the Sri Lanka – Oman oil refinery project, the island’s biggest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
The Minister of Industry and Commerce, Resettlement of Protracted Displaced Persons, Co-operative Development, and Vocational Training and Skills Development, Rishad Bathiudeen joined Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe at the laying of the foundation stone for the proposed USD 3.85 billion oil refinery and a cement factory at the Mirijjawila Export Processing Zone in Hambantota.
The ceremony held to lay the foundation stone for the two projects was held yesterday with the attendance of Premier Wickremesinghe, Minister Bathiudeen, Oman’s Minister of Oil and Gas, Mohammed bin Hamad Al Rumhy, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Sri Lanka Cheng Xueyuan, and a number of Ministers and Parliamentarians were present for the occasion.
The fuel refinery and storage facility is expected to produce 200,000 barrels a day, to be fully operational within four-years, while the proposed cement factory will be constructed on a land area of 64 acres at the Mirijjawila Export Processing Zone and the Government expects production of 3.6 metric tons of cement per year.
According to the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI), the facility would be jointly financed by Oman’s Ministry of Oil and Gas and a Singapore-registered company.